


Burning It Down (Tangled Up With You All Night)

by callistawolf



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Play, Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Birth Control, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Mildly Dubious Consent, Post-Season/Series 02, Romance, Shower Sex, Smut, Soulmates, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-05 16:32:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 55,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5382263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callistawolf/pseuds/callistawolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything we know about seasons 1-2 of Arrow are the same but with one fairly significant difference: there are Alphas and Omegas in the world. What's more, Oliver Queen is a well known Alpha.  Felicity Smoak is an Omega, but she's hidden this fact her whole life.  After the events of 2x23, something happens to shake things up.  A lot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is [my NaNoWriMo fic](http://nanowrimo.org/participants/callistawolf/novels/burning-it-down-tangled-up-with-you-all-night) for this year! This is quite different from last year's fic. I'm not sure what else to say about it; I think you can about guess how this is going to go. I want to shoutout to fanmommer for cheering me on and melsanfo for inspiring me with her own A/B/O fic!
> 
> PLEASE let me know if there's something you think I need to add to the tags. I'm a bit at a loss with them at the moment, but I'm happy to add anything you think that I should!
> 
> Follow me [on Twitter](http://twitter.com/callistawolf) for updates and sneak peeks!

P R O L O G U E

The world is comprised of three kinds of people: Alphas, Betas and Omegas.The Betas make up the majority of the population and society views them as “just normal people”.There is no biological compulsion that drives them, outside of the ordinary instinct to procreate and perpetuate the species.They feel attraction to other Betas, to Alphas and to Omegas. Life is fairly normal for Betas, from a biological standpoint.As such, and considering their majority in the population, many Betas view themselves as the more evolved branch of humanity.  

Still, there isn’t as much stigma for the Alphas and Omegas as there could be. This is probably due mostly to the fact that Alphas are notoriously charming and engaging and often hold leadership positions. Omegas are rarer and therefore somewhat prized, particularly by the Alphas. 

As such, the three classifications live in a fairly consistent symbiosis with one another.Alphas are often in the spotlight, due to their natural magnetism and affinity for taking control. Betas don’t generally challenge this, seeing the Alphas as natural leaders. Alphas cherish the Omegas, not just for their rarity but because of their biological imperative. 

While Alphas can have meaningful and lasting relationships with Betas, their biology is tuned specially towards Omegas and when given a choice, under neutral circumstances, an Alpha will always pursue the Omega over the Beta. The Omegas, for their part, also exhibit the same preference for Alphas.Again, while lasting relationships with Betas are indeed possible and not unheard of, an Omega is _made_ for an Alpha, and vice versa.The two classifications coming together is like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly. 

However, as society has modernized and the world has sped up in the digital age, the biological imperatives that reigned for so many centuries have fallen by the wayside.Preferring personal careers and pursuits, Omegas often put off their biology by taking expensive Omega suppressants, which mask their natural pheromones and scent and make them appear to be as a Beta to any Alphas. This modern convention has become necessary in the workforce, where Omegas often have to work with or even _for_ Alphas.The last thing needed in those scenarios is a pesky biological imperative distracting everyone from their work. 

Because of this innovation, however, Alpha/Omega pairings have become rarer than they were in the past.But, once again, modern society has compensated by setting up “dating services” to match up Alphas and Omegas.Omega shelters (a service provided to Omegas who cannot afford suppressants and who need someplace to go for treatment when their heat arrives) give their patrons the choice of an Alpha from their waiting list to help them carry out the heat or medication to suppress the heat artificially.The last option only applies if the Omega arrives at the shelter in enough time and their heat isn’t fully under way yet.

A heat is unlike anything else in the human existence and only Omegas experience them. The cycle depends on the individual, but they generally hit every 2-3 months.The Omega will feel hot flashes, feverish and achy, almost as though they are coming down with the flu.Their thoughts will start to scramble and their body will prepare for intercourse.The Omega’s erogenous areas will grow more sensitive, and their senses in general will grow more attuned to their surroundings. If there’s an Alpha nearby, the Omega will be drawn to their scent.This is the same for an Alpha as well, and their instincts grow possessive and protective when they encounter an Omega in heat.If there are other Alphas present (or, sometimes, even well-meaning Betas), this might be cause for an aggressive display.During a heat, both the Alpha and the Omega go primal.The heat will last for a couple days.While the pair won’t be locked into intercourse the entire time, they will need to be within arm’s reach of one another until the heat passes. Most times, unless special preventative measures have been taken, pregnancy will result from a heat.  

If an Omega is able to afford their own suppressants, they won’t need the shelters or to seek out an Alpha. In fact, in today’s age, an Omega need never experience a heat at all until they are in a relationship with an Alpha if they don’t wish. On suppressants, their heat will never arrive and with the added use of special Omega-blocking shampoos, lotions and body washes, an Omega can pass as a Beta in every day life.  

This works out best in most modern situations for everyone involved.Because once an Alpha knows someone is an Omega, they will pursue with dogged determination, often forsaking other responsibilities.And the Omega, if not on suppressants, will welcome this attention.The Betas, meanwhile, will be annoyed with the general lack of productivity.  

You can see why its better to avoid that sort of scenario, right? 

There is, however, buried within these classifications and biological imperatives, such a thing as _soulmates_. The reality of it has become so rare that it has fallen into legend, something children tell each other like any other fairy tale.The truth of soul bonds has gotten lost through history, through the use of suppressants, through modern living.People have scattered across the globe and often, mates never cross each other’s paths once during their entire lifespans.  

Soulmates are something whispered about at sleepovers, that little girls dream about with childish romanticism. Those dreams die with age and dawning reality.When Alphas and Omegas “present” as their classification around their eighteenth birthday, those dreams die further.Most girls (and most boys) don’t present at all and remain classified as Betas. Alphas charge ahead into life, not dwelling on old fantasies and Omegas adapt to the world around them and learn how to hide themselves and their true natures.  

It’s entirely possible that soulmates, once they find each other, keep their bond private from the rest of the world.Imagine someone announcing on the evening news that they discovered Santa Claus and he is real?While that might be an extreme example, the myth of soulmates is so prevalent that it’s unlikely a couple who experienced a soulbond would be left with much peace and privacy to lead their lives normally.  

And that’s the whole idea, isn’t it?To lead a normal life? 

***

Felicity Smoak sometimes forgot that she was an Omega.Her own biology had become so secondary in her life that, other than when she would take her suppressants, she didn’t give it any thought.Using the special pheromone blocking shampoos, lotions and soaps was such standard practice anymore that she never thought twice about it being different than what other people might use.The package simply came in the mail once a month with a fresh supply from the online retailer she had a subscription with and that was that. Life was too hectic these days to worry about such things anyhow

And it wasn’t like she had any suppressants left to take. 

Just that week she’d noticed she was out of Omega suppressants.Money was tight but she didn’t figure it would matter if she skipped a week.Next week, when she got paid for some of the consulting work she had scheduled for that weekend, she’d go down to the shelter near her apartment and pick some up.Not a problem. 

What was a problem right now, however, was tracking down this sicko who was terrorizing the Glades. About a month ago, women started disappearing all around the Glades.These women all had three things in common: They were Omegas and they were young and they were alone.After all, it was easier to abduct a woman that no one was going to miss right away. In the last week, Felicity had been gathering as much information as she could, chasing down every lead the police had (and a few that they didn’t).Five women in total had disappeared.There had been no witnesses for any of the abductions and often the women weren’t noticed missing until at least a day later.And five bodies had turned up, a few days later, used and broken and almost unidentifiable.  

To say that _all of them_ were anxious to find this asshole and deliver him to justice would be putting it mildly.It was a good thing, in a way, that Felicity no longer had a job since Isabel had taken over and all but ran Queen Consolidated into the ground. If she did, there was no way she could have functioned at work on the lack of sleep she’d gotten all this week. Felicity hadn’t been able to rest, hadn’t been able to focus on her consulting side business, hadn’t been able to properly search for a job… every time she closed her eyes she saw the police photos of the bodies of the women they’d found.Mutilated.Abused. 

From the set of Oliver’s jaw when he spoke to her and Roy and Dig about the case, Felicity knew it was affecting him too. 

They didn’t know yet whether the psycho was a regular person, a Beta, or if he was an Alpha.They didn’t have a face, a name… the leads were few and far between and brought them to dead ends so far.But last night, when they’d talked about it, Oliver had been firm; this man was not an Alpha.  

None of them had argued with him… it was well known but rarely spoken between them that Oliver was an Alpha.Felicity had known that about him before she’d even known _him_.Alphas tended to be well known in the world, it was just in their nature, though Oliver was one of the more well known Alphas in their city.  

“An Alpha wouldn’t do that,” Oliver had told them, his eyes hard but sure. 

John and Roy had looked like they’d like to argue.Felicity knew they were both Betas, both just normal people.But Felicity had met John’s eye and shook her head.Then he’d put a hand on Roy’s arm, stalling him mid-protest.  

Felicity knew admittedly very little about Alphas.She didn’t even know that much about Omegas, to be honest.She’d spent so much of her life suppressing that part of herself that she didn’t even know what it felt like to have a heat.But something in Oliver’s demeanor and the way he was so certain that this man they were hunting couldn’t be an Alpha, that he wouldn’t _do that_ to Omegas… Felicity believed him. She couldn’t _not_ believe him. 

That was par for the course with her and Oliver though.It had been two months since they’d put Slade in an underground prison on Lian Yu.Two months since Oliver had brought her to his family’s empty mansion and told her that he loved her.For one heart-pounding moment, she’d believed him. Oliver had never been able to lie to her, especially not when he looked her in the eye and that night… she’d seen nothing but sincerity in his eyes, even as he’d slipped the syringe with the Mirakuru cure into her hand.  

“Do you understand?” he’d asked her. 

She understood what he wanted from her, that he expected her to wait to be taken by Slade’s goons, that he needed her to get close enough to that mad-man to deliver this cure into his bloodstream.But his love confession?That she wasn’t sure she’d ever understand.Because it had felt so real and for that moment, she’d believed him.  

Her heart had believed him. 

On Lian Yu, she’d tried to ask him, to get him to say that it was all just an act.But he refused to take it back.And Felicity was scared to press any further, feeling the edge of something huge there.He probably _was_ just acting and didn’t want to hurt her feelings.Their friendship was strong and there was no good reason to mess with that right now. 

So the last two months had been something of a holding pattern with them.Their friendship was still very much there, but Felicity caught herself staring at him more than usual.And a few times, she’d even caught him watching her.She tried not to dwell on it. _It’s nothing_ , she told herself.

And now, she was back at work in the foundry, chasing down fruitless leads and trying to find anything that could help the team out.It had been a late night the night before, just like all the other nights that week, and Felicity had arrived home not long before the sun came up.She tossed and turned for a few hours before getting up, showering and heading in to the foundry.She didn’t feel right and she knew she was working herself too hard and was most likely getting sick. But she also saw how hard John and Roy and Oliver were pushing themselves and she couldn’t step back and no give this her all too. 

The good news was that perseverance paid off.

Around five in the evening, when Dig and Oliver were sparring on the mats and Roy was cleaning some of his equipment, the police scanner that Felicity kept active on one of her workstations squawked to life.Felicity’s eyes widened as she listened to the call to dispatch and without even thinking she called out, “Oliver!”

He was at her side in an instant, his bare chest ( _why did he always insist on working out shirtless??_ ) sweaty and heaving for breath.Her stomach twisted at the sight before she refocused on her monitors. The call was exactly the break they needed; a worker at Big Belly Burger just a few blocks away witnessed one of her co-workers getting abducted while taking out the garbage to the dumpster out back in the alley.Felicity called up the security cam for that area and found the alley with the dumpster.As Roy and Dig joined them, she scanned back until… 

“There!” Oliver called, halting her scrolling of the footage.  

They watched, all holding their breaths, while a young woman with a brunette ponytail bounced out into the alley, pulling a garbage back half her size with her.She seemed chipper and not at all concerned about her surroundings.Moments later, Felicity watched in horror as a tall, thin, figure peeled out of the shadows and came up behind the woman, grabbing her arms, causing her to drop the garbage bag.She tried to scream but he put a hand over her mouth, yanking her back against him.For such a slight looking man, he seemed to have a lot of strength to hold her.She struggled, trying to hit and kick but he gave her no room to move and no target to hit. Then, Felicity winced as he cracked her over the top of the head with the butt of a gun he’d had in his pocket.She went limp and he hefted her over his shoulder before walking out of the alley, his gait easy and unconcerned.As if he too was just lugging garbage. 

She shuddered while an uncomfortable heat suffused her.That poor girl…

“Can you get an ID on his face?” Oliver asked, breaking through her haze. 

Her fingers were already flying over the keys. “Already on it,” she murmured. A shudder ran up her spin and Felicity willed it back.If she was getting a fever after all her crazy hours, that was fine, but it was just going to have to wait until they caught this guy. 

The footage was grainy but Felicity was able to get a good look at the man’s face when he’d grabbed the woman and she zoomed in, sharpened and saved it, sending it over the facial recognition program.Roy’s forehead creased as he leaned towards the monitor. 

“ _That’s_ the guy?He looks like someone I could have gone to school with!” he protested. 

“You can’t judge a book by its cover, Roy,” Oliver reminded him. 

“Yeah, psychos come in all shapes and sizes,” Dig agreed. 

Her computer pinged, signaling a result from the database.“That was quick,” she mumbled as she brought up the screen. The monitors filled with this guy’s rap sheet… a long string of harassment and assaults. 

“Duncan Shaw,” she read off the screen.“Former resident of Blüdhaven and apparently he has quite a few issues with authority.”

“Can you get a location? An address?Anything?” Oliver shifted from foot to foot impatiently behind her chair.The hairs on her arms rose, despite the warmth in the room.

Felicity shook her head. “He skipped parole when he came to Starling.But I’ll look through the surveillance camera database and see if I can find where he’s gone or where he’s been spotted recently. Kind of like how we tracked Cyrus Gold last year.Remember that?”

“Yeah.Just… quickly, Felicity.” 

“You don’t have to remind me.”

While she worked on that, the guys suited up and got their weapons of choice ready. No one wanted to waste any time, not when that poor girl’s life was very much in danger. 

“Got anything?” Dig was the first one ready and he gripped the back of her chair as he leaned towards the monitor, the lines of his face tense.  

“Hold on, I have some pings down by the docks… I’m trying to narrow it down to a location…”

“Let’s get going… Sounds like he’s down by the docks, I say we head that way and Felicity can let us know the exact location soon as it comes up,” Oliver said. 

She only paused long enough in her searching to watch as the men hurried up the stairs and out to the van that they used on operations like this. She hoped they stayed safe; she worried about all of them every time they headed out onto the streets. 

It took a few minutes to narrow down the location because Felicity wanted to be absolutely sure.As soon as she was, she rattled off the address over the comms to the men who were listening in. “He’s got a place in one of those empty warehouses, you know the ones they tried to turn into trendy hipster loft apartments a few years back? I looked up the history of the building. Its empty now but he’s constantly been caught on camera going inside. That’s got to be where he is.”

As her team rushed down to the docks, Felicity looked over the new information coming in on the abduction.There was some news footage of the woman who’d witnessed the attack.She was young, maybe Thea’s age, and shaking with shock and fear as she tearfully talked about what a great person Janie Perkins was.Janie.A young girl from the midwest, moved to Starling for opportunity and ended up working fast food.Felicity’s eyes filled as a picture of Janie filled the screen while the reporter talked about her.Such a pretty girl.  

Felicity tried to shake her macabre thoughts away as she refocused on the profile of Duncan Shaw.He was young, wiry, and had a sinister look to his pointed features. Duncan was young and isolated and everything in his extensive file indicated that he was unpredictable, violent and dangerous.Felicity hoped the team got to him and poor Janie Perkins before it was too late.She hoped that her team made it back home in one piece. 

Felicity tracked their progress on her monitors, fighting back the edgy restlessness she felt, the prickling under her skin.A drop of sweat tracked down her neck.Her sleep was all messed up due to these long nights this last week and it was just like her to get sick when she was overworked and tired.That had happened to her many times back during her days at MIT, cramming for exams.Felicity dreaded it, since she didn’t have the time or luxury right now to be sick.What she needed to do, besides lead her team to safety, was get a real job so she could cover her bills. She had enough to pay for her rent and some bills and groceries, but a few things had been cut out in addition to her suppressants.  

“Talk to me, Felicity.” Oliver’s roughened voice in her ear was familiar and almost always soothing.Tonight, however, his tone didn’t soothe so much as it caused a shiver to skate down her spine.Yeah, that definitely felt like a fever coming on.Dammit.  

“You’re about two blocks west of the location. Be careful, this one could have surveillance installed,” Felicity replied.She watched the progress of their corresponding dots on the tracking screen as they neared the building.

“Okay, you’re there,” she said into the comm a few minutes later.“There’s a stairwell just to the right and his door is up on the second level.Be careful.The rest of that building is vacant and I imagine it echoes quite a bit.We don’t want him knowing you guys are there.”

“Copy that,” Dig said quietly. 

Felicity had no access to cameras inside the decaying warehouse where Shaw’s loft was, but she could follow the blinking green dots of her team on the schematic as they crept closer.The heat signatures from the building indicated that there were two people currently in the loft.At least… she thought it was two people.The signatures were close enough that they could be just one person or else Shaw was… 

Felicity swallowed back her revulsion and focused on the operation. 

“Hurry,” she said. 

“We are,” Oliver returned. 

With a loud _BANG_ , signaling Dig had kicked in the door, things went from quiet and tense to loud and chaotic.There was shouting… Oliver, in his modulated Arrow-voice, demanding Shaw get away from Janie. Dig, shouting at him to keep his hands in the air. Roy, calling out Janie to see if she could respond.Felicity’s heart was in her throat. 

All she could do, for several long, breathless minutes, was listen to the sounds of scuffling and grunting.There was no way to tell what was happening, who was doing what to whom and who was, perhaps, in mortal danger.She hoped it was Duncan Shaw. 

“Dammit!” Oliver suddenly yelled, making her jump in her seat. “He’s making a run for it!”

“Shit! Track him, Felicity!” That was Dig. 

“Trying!” Felicity said, her fingers flying over her keyboard.  

“Roy, are you okay?” Oliver asked, his voice edged with frustration and concern. 

“He got me in the side…” Roy voice sounded winded. 

“What happened??” Felicity demanded. 

“Shaw knifed Roy and fled. We have Janie she’s… well she’s going to live but she needs someone here and we need to get Roy to the ER to get stitched up before he loses anymore blood,” Dig explained. “Did you track him?”

“I’m sorry, guys, he gave me the slip.” After spotting Shaw on one surveillance camera just outside the warehouse, she was unable to find him on any others in the area. 

“You take Roy,” Oliver suggested. “Felicity, put a call in to the SCPD, get them down here as fast as possible.I’ll stay with Janie until they arrive.I’m on good terms with Captain Lance right now, so I’ll be fine.”

“God dammit!” Diggle shouted, his frustration clear and Felicity felt it too… they had been _so close_ to getting this guy.

“I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t see the knife until it was too late…” Roy sounded wrecked. 

“Roy, it’s okay. It happens,” Felicity assured him. “I’m just glad it was just a wound.Dig, do you have him?”

“Yep, we’re headed to the ER right now.”

“Okay, good.”Felicity leaned back in her chair, rubbing her hands over her face.She was shaking, surely at the end of her stores of energy.She felt sticky with sweat.“Oliver?You good?”

She could hear some muffled whimpering over his comm and knew it was Janie.Her stomach turned when she thought about what the poor girl had endured.  

“I’m fine,” he replied, his voice softer. “But Janie… I’m going to stay with her. I don’t want her to be alone.”

“I don’t blame you.I’ll be here when you get back,” she told him. 

“You sound exhausted,” Oliver told her.“Why don’t you head home, get some rest.We’ll try again tomorrow.”

Felicity continued to monitor Oliver while waiting for the SCPD to arrive.She knew she should do as he suggested.She felt absolutely horrible. The adrenaline crash left her feeling even more edgy and feverish than before.She just had to get some searches set up to run overnight.She’d be damned if they lost this guy now, not when they’d been so close. 

“You’re not getting away again, dirtbag,” she muttered to her screen. 

She felt weak and shaky and a little disgusting from the sweat coating her forehead and neck.Felicity got up and went back to the little bathroom Oliver had installed. She avoided her reflection while she splashed cool water on her face.That felt amazing against her warmed skin. There was a small hand towel (that smelled strongly of Oliver, she couldn’t help but notice) and she used that to dry her face and wipe at her neck.She’d need to reapply her Omega lotion and perfume back at her desk, but for now, the relief was palpable. 

Felicity considered taking Oliver’s advice. Maybe if she just headed right home she wouldn’t have to bother with reapplying her products. She was pondering that option when she walked out and stopped by her workstation to check on the searches. 

***

Felicity must have lost track of time, because it seemed like only a few minutes later that she heard the clang of the foundry door opening and closing, the beeping of the automatic locks re-engaging.  

“Felicity?Why are you still here?” Oliver walked towards where she sat, his expression concerned.He set his bow down on the table next to her monitors and cocked his head to get a look at her face. 

“Oh!I just… Lost track of the time I guess…”Felicity had entirely planned to be gone by the time he got back. 

“Listen, I was thinking on my way back here… I’m sure we won’t have trouble finding Shaw again. If you have your software scanning the cameras around the city overnight, he’s surely going to ping on at least one of them.Plus we know his name now and he—“ Oliver cut off when he saw her and a crease formed between his eyebrows. “You don’t look good at all.Your face is flushed and your eyes are dilated…”

Felicity swallowed and realized that the edginess that had been creeping up on her all evening had grown tenfold during the time she’d been setting up her searches. Her clothes were beginning to feel tight and uncomfortable next to her skin.She shifted restlessly. 

“Are you sick?” he asked.

“I— I think so. I don’t know. I’ve never felt like this before,” she admitted, pushing away from her computers. Her hands were shaking as she held them out in front of her.  

Oliver’s gaze sharpened as he took in her appearance.Then… he inhaled.Felicity watched, her eyes wide, as his nostrils flared and his eyes seemed to darken with some sort of awareness.“Felicity…” he began, his voice low.“Why am I sensing pheromones from you right now?”

Ohh…. _Shit._ Felicity had been doubling up on her soaps and lotions since running out of the suppressants.She kept some of the lotion in her handbag, in fact, and reapplied it several times during the day, paying special attention to her neck and wrists and anywhere else that might be putting off a scent.But the last few hours had been so hectic and she’d been so focused on tracking down Shaw…

Then she remembered splashing water on her face in the bathroom, likely washing off whatever was left of those lotions. She’d meant to reapply them back at her desk but had gotten caught up in her searches… 

“Uhm… Oliver, I’m so sorry. I usually take suppressants but I’m out of a job and I can’t afford them right now and I’m _so sorry_.I usually try to mask the scents. I know this is super unprofessional…”

Oliver lifted a hand, cutting her off.Felicity’s teeth clacked as she snapped her jaw shut.  

“You’re… an Omega?” 

His entire posture was stiff, strained and he watched her like a hawk would watch its prey.Felicity couldn’t tell if he was angry or what, but that expression on his face… she’d never seen it before. 

“Yes, but I’ve always hidden it.I just don’t have time to deal with that, so I take the suppressants and use the soaps and stuff… I promise, I won’t forget again. I just need to get home and take another shower—“

Felicity got to her feet, intending to head towards the stairs but her legs buckled.Her legs must have cramped and she was feeling so shaky and strange…Oliver lunged forward and grabbed her before she could hit the hard cement floor.  

He grasped her arms and her momentum had him pulling her against him so he could steady her on her feet.The instant he touched her, Felicity felt like her nerve endings were exploding into life.She gasped at the feel, at how her body seemed to react towards him completely independent of her.  

Oliver must have felt it too because he released her quickly and stepped away, burying his hands in his pockets. 

“Oliver?”

“Uh… are you sure you can make it?” he asked, trying to look anywhere but at her.He seemed intensely nervous all of a sudden, something he never was around her.  

“I— I think so…” Felicity moved to her purse but found a wave of… _something_ wash over her. It was so intense, it was as if a furnace was blasting hot air on her at the same time as her blood turned to ice in her veins.She sucked in a breath that had Oliver move towards her again before he stopped himself. 

“Felicity… you… do you know what is happening to you right now?” he asked, his voice still low.It was almost as low as his Arrow voice and it was making her want to whine. 

“I got the flu?” she asked weakly, gripping the edge of the desk and trying not to notice how a bead of sweat was running down the side of her forehead. 

“It’s not the flu.”

He didn’t look away this time, but his crystal blue eyes locked with hers.She swallowed thickly as he licked his lips. 

“What is it then?” Her voice was a whisper. 

“You’re going into heat.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's secret is out and what's worse, she's going into heat. What will Oliver do? Can either of them deny the inevitable?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys aren't ready for this. This chapter earns it's "E" rating, so fair warning. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone for your amazing response to this story! I'm glad to have been able to bring the A/B/O trope to so many of you for the first time. It's a bit of a strange concept but there's a lot to play with here. If you want to know more, I got a lot of information from [this site](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Alpha/Beta/Omega) and [this amazing guide](http://archiveofourown.org/works/403644/chapters/665489). The latter is worth a read, if just for the giggles (and ignore the mention of assbabies if that bothers... there's a lot of slash fic in A/B/O fic world!). No fear, there will be no assbabies in this fic. ;)

The awareness she could see in Oliver’s gaze made a whole new set of shivers run down her spine.But as much as he seemed to be affected by her, he also seemed just as stunned as she was.Then again… Felicity wasn’t sure how anyone could be more surprised than she was feeling right that moment. 

“Heat?Are you serious?”

“Can’t you tell?” he asked her, his tone incredulous. A crinkle formed between his eyebrows as he stepped towards her and then halted.

“I— I’ve never had a heat before,” she admitted, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. “I’ve always been on suppressants, since I first presented.”

“And you use the soaps and perfumes?” Oliver asked, licking his lips yet again.His eyes were heavy on her and she knew, if she was pumping out pheromones like she knew she must be if she was going into heat, that they were affecting him too.She _had_ to get out of here.Soon. 

Felicity nodded. “I have for years. I don’t even think twice about it.”

“That explains why I never noticed before.Why I never…”He stopped and swallowed.He pulled his hands out of his pockets and she saw him clench his fists.  

“Uh, I better go,” she told him. 

“Where are you going to go?Home?”Oliver shook his head. “You said you’re out of suppressants.You go into heat at home, any Alpha wandering by will sense you.Plus, you don’t know what’ll happen to you if you’re on own through that. It’s not safe.”

“Okay… a shelter then?”She gathered her purse, fighting the waves of heat that were washing over her. Her hands were already shaking. Felicity wanted so badly to give in, to strip off her shirt or her skirt or all of it.To rub herself against something. Against _someone_.  

He nodded. “Yes.I’ll drive you.”

_Bad idea._ “Oliver, no—“

He held up a hand. “No arguing. There’s a club full of men upstairs right now, some of them assuredly are Alphas. If they get one whiff of you, there’s no way you’re getting out of that club without…” A pained expression crossed his face and he stopped, passing a hand over his eyes.“I’ll get you up to the car, I’ll drive you to the shelter.”

“But Oliver,” she protested, “you’re an Alpha too.Won’t _you_ be affected?”

“I already am,” he growled, not meeting her eye. “But I’m used to controlling myself more than most others probably are. I can get you to the shelter.”

Before Felicity could argue some more, Oliver left to enter the changing room/bathroom they’d set up in the back corner of the foundry basement to change. He moved fast; he was back out in front of her within five minutes, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. 

“I hate to ask you to do this,” she told him, starting to edge towards the exit.

“We’re wasting time, Felicity.Let’s move.”

She swallowed her protests and followed him upstairs and through the exit into the alley, avoiding most of the club crowd.He didn’t let her pause, simply gripped her elbow and pulled her along so that she had to trot to keep up. 

“Where’s your car?” she asked him when they finally arrived into the warm night air in the alley.  

“I sold it.We’re taking the Ducati.”

Felicity bit her lip, wanting badly to protest again but knowing that he would brush her arguments aside.She hadn’t ridden on his motorcycle with him before and, inherent danger aside, the notion had always been rather appealing.However, she remembered the way her body reacted when he’d grabbed her down in the foundry basement.If she had to hold onto him for an extended period of time right now, she wasn’t sure how ever pretend it was no big deal once this whole nightmare was over with. 

Oliver handed her a spare helmet and, with shaking hands, she set it on her head and tried to strap it.Her fingers couldn’t seem to work the clasp but she kept trying until Oliver brushed her fingers away and he took over.He was so near, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face.It made her want to lean into him and—

Oliver steadied her before stepping back.He got on the bike and turned a little towards her.“Climb on behind me, wrap your arms around my chest and hold on tight, okay?Just lean into the corners with me as we go.” 

Felicity nodded, not trusting her voice, and did as he said. 

Oliver’s body was warm against her front as she fit herself onto the seat behind him.Felicity wrapped her arms around his chest, grasping her wrist with one hand and resting her helmeted-head against his shoulder blade.Oliver started the engine and without a word, shot out of the alley and onto the street beyond.  

She closed her eyes against the blurred lights of the city as they whizzed through the streets towards the nearest Omega shelter. Felicity was terrified of what might happen to her there; she’d never had to confront this part of who she was before.But for the moment, she was safe with Oliver and that was the most important thing. 

***

Time fell away as she clung to Oliver so when the motorcycle came to a stop, Felicity lifted her head, startled.Before them was a building that looked not unlike a nice hotel.It was tall, tasteful and nondescript. 

“Are you sure this is the place?” she asked. 

“Yep. I’ve been here before,” Oliver assured her as he helped her climb off the back of the bike. Felicity flushed as he helped her unfasten the helmet.Of course he knew the place.He was an Alpha and it was common knowledge that Alphas sometimes came to shelters to… hook up with willing and eager Omegas. 

Yeah, that wasn’t something she cared to think too much about right then. 

Instead, she focused on not gluing herself to Oliver’s side.The absence of his body against hers was doing some disturbing things to her.She ached and had to clench her fists at her side to keep from reaching for his hand.Oliver seemed to sense her struggle, however, and smiled at her encouragingly. 

“It’s not so bad.Come on, I’ll walk you in to the front desk, make sure you get checked in okay.”

Felicity appreciated it.She was very much out of her depth here, and embarrassingly not in tune with her own body.A friendly face at her side while she dealt with this would be very welcome.Plus, she wasn’t quite ready to let him go just yet. When he was near, the symptoms she was feeling didn’t feel as uncomfortable as when he wasn’t.They felt… good. 

Felicity didn’t want to examine _that_ too much, considering he was an Alpha and she was an Omega.Nope.No good could come of that. 

The lobby of the shelter was just like any other hotel lobby. The staff were all dressed in soothing and elegant looking white clothing and wore mild, pleasant expressions. The sign over the front desk read: “Starling City Omega Sanctuary”. Sanctuary. That sounded so much better than _shelter_.  

The lady at the desk greeted them with a beatific smile. “Welcome to the Starling City Omega Sanctuary.How may I help you?”

“Uhm… Hi.I, uh, think I might be going into heat?”

The lady (her name-tag identified her as _Margot_ ) gave her a curious look. “You think?” 

“She’s never experienced a heat before,” Oliver explained.  

“Yes, I usually am on suppressants but I ran out and because I have the worst luck in the world, my heat came before I could get more. I’ve been busy with, er… work lately and didn’t notice anything unusual. I thought I was just overtired and coming down with a cold or something,” Felicity tried to explain, her words coming out quick and breathless. 

“Ah, I see.So you’ve never been with us before?” Margot asked.When Felicity shook her head, she continued. “What are your symptoms?”

Felicity rattled off the things she was feeling and Margot typed them into the computer.Her brow furrowed and she grabbed something that looked like a huge barcode scanner and came around the desk. 

“What’s that?” Felicity asked, grabbing for Oliver’s hand.He took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. A surge of pleasant warmth spread through her at the contact. 

“Our own technology. It can measure your pheromone levels and tell us what stage of your heat you’re in. Stand still…” Margot ran the scanner over her, from her head to her feet and Felicity tried to stand as still as she could.The problem was, her skin felt like it was ready to crawl off of her body and with Oliver standing so close and smelling so _good_ … it was hard to focus on anything at all. 

“Oh dear,” Margot murmured after peering at the small screen on the device.

“What is it?” Oliver asked, sounding tense. 

“This says she’s further along in her heat than I first thought. Most Omegas come to us much sooner.”

“Okay… well, she’s here now. That’s the important thing. Let’s get her a room, get her some emergency suppressants…”

Margot shook her head. “It’s not that simple. Once an Omega is this far along in her heat, there’s nothing we can give her to suppress the heat from carrying out.”

Felicity tried to swallow but her throat had gone dry.All she could manage was a whimper.Oliver moved closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her against him.She must have looked like she was about to fall over. Her head was pounding, her _bones_ were aching and she still felt about ready to jump out of her skin.She began to pull at her shirt, needing it away from her skin. 

“Can you do anything?She needs something… look at her!” Oliver insisted, his jaw tight. 

Margot stood back and sized Oliver up. “You know what she needs. You’re an Alpha.”

Felicity noticed a flush creeping up Oliver’s cheeks. “Is that the only option?”

“I’m afraid so. If we left her alone, well… I’ve heard some Omegas suffer permanent damage if their heat goes unfulfilled.Why do you think there was such a push to produce artificial suppressants a hundred years ago?”

“I don’t want anything to happen to her.” 

Why did Oliver’s voice suddenly sound like it was coming from the end of a long hallway?Felicity grabbed for him, relieved to find he was still right there. 

“Will you be staying with her?” Margot asked. 

“Well, you see… we’re just friends.We’re not… like that.” Oliver sounded flustered, which was so unlike him. 

“I see.” Margot sounded super judgey. Why was she being so judgey?“I have a few Alphas on the roster, I can call one of them up to come take care of her.”

Felicity felt Oliver’s fingers dig into her waist and she nearly thrilled at the feeling. “Wait!” he called out.“I can’t leave her to someone she doesn’t even know.”

“I assure you, this Omega will be glad of any Alpha’s attentions at this point.Anything to prevent the pain.” 

As though on cue, a sharp pain sliced through her midsection and if Oliver hadn’t been holding her to him, she would have doubled over.Instead, she moaned, feeling a new layer of sweat coat her forehead.  

“She needs help, sir,” Margot insisted sharply. 

There was a heavy moment where no one said anything.Felicity panted a little, finding it helped ease the discomfort. Oliver continued to hold her and his fingers flexed against her.Then, she heard and felt him take a deep breath. 

“Okay, I’ll handle it.Just give us the room key. I’ll pay for everything.Just please. Hurry.”

***

Things were starting to blur together.Sounds became garbled and her own heart pounding in her ears grew louder and louder.Her vision got a little hazy but she could see well enough as Oliver lead her into an elevator and down a long hallway to a door.He ushered her inside and sat her on a chair near a window while he locked the door and scoped out the room.  

“Oliver?” she said, her voice sounding weak to her own ears. She remembered coming to the shelter… _sanctuary_.She remembered talking to a lady with an “M” on her name-tag… How did they get here? 

“It’s okay, Felicity. I promise, it’ll be okay,” he assured her, coming to kneel in front of her. 

“What are we doing?” she asked, feeling like her tongue was too thick in her own mouth. 

“You’re in heat, Felicity.The staff here can’t give you anything to suppress it.You have to ride it out. But it’d be too dangerous to do that alone.”

She blinked, feeling as though her eyelids were weighted down. “Why are _you_ here?” 

“I’m going to… I’ll be here to help you through this.” 

That got through to her. That statement made it through the fog in her mind.Oliver meant to… _be with her_ through her heat. Here, in this quasi-hotel room. While she was certainly ignorant about her own Omega-ness, Felicity wasn’t uneducated about Alphas and Omegas. Everyone took the same biology class in high school that explained all of this. She knew what a heat entailed, even if the symptoms were a new thing for her. There was only one way to “help” someone through a heat. 

And it was something Felicity had gone to great lengths to prevent from _ever_ happening around Oliver. 

If she were being honest with herself, which Felicity always tried to be, the idea of having hot, desperate, mating-heat sex with Oliver was the pinnacle of her late-night fantasies. The desire was there and while her heat was ramping up her arousal to unbearable levels at the moment, that desire was a lot more than biological with her. Felicity had feelings for Oliver and those feelings had been growing, maturing and expanding ever since she’d first met him. She knew she was in love with him. She knew it like she knew her own name. 

The idea that this would happen with them just because she was in heat, because she couldn’t _control_ herself, because he _felt sorry for her_ … That was awful enough to clear her senses long enough for her to stand up and back away from Oliver.  

The concern she saw in his eyes turned her stomach and she had to look away. “No… I don’t want this. I don’t want you to have to… do this.”

“Felicity, I can’t let you suffer. This could cause you some permanent problems.”

“So I’ll have the lady downstairs call some random Alpha. Oliver, I _cannot_ ask you to do this.”

“You’re not asking, Felicity. I’m offering.”

“I don’t want you to do this because you feel _sorry_ for me, Oliver.I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“This won’t. I promise, it won’t.”

“How can you _know_ that?”

Oliver grabbed her arms, holding her still and her eyes met his. His fingers caused sensation to flare against her sensitive skin. “Because our friendship is strong enough, Felicity. Do you trust me?”

“I always trust you, Oliver. You know that.”

“ _That’s_ how I know.”

“Oliver…”

“Please, Felicity. I don’t want it to be some random Alpha. I want it to be me.Please, let me do this for you.”

“But…”

“Do you not want me, Felicity?”

Her emotions were a hurricane, whirling around inside of her so that she didn’t know which end was up.His hands were burning where they gripped her arms and her body yearned for his.She wanted this so badly and her logic was quickly fading away in lieu of the intensity she saw in his eyes. 

She _wanted_ this. She wanted _him_. 

“I do want you,” she whispered. 

Oliver’s eyes blazed as he bent towards her and a moment later, his mouth was covering hers. 

All thoughts about how this wasn’t how she wanted their first kiss to happen flew out of her head the instant his lips touched hers. That biology she’d spent the last seven or so years of her life ignoring surged forward and took over. Her hands went to his hair, her nails scratching through the short strands and holding his head to her as he plundered her mouth.She tasted him for the first time and he tasted like _desire_. 

Those arms of his, arms that she’d spent a lot of time admiring as he worked out in the foundry, banded around her, holding her as though he couldn’t get close enough, her toes leaving the floor as he pulled her against him. Felicity moaned as he licked into her mouth, her whole body responding. Where all night she’d progressively felt uncomfortable in her own skin, now with Oliver’s arms around her and his mouth on hers, she felt like she was right where she was supposed to be. 

Felicity broke away to gulp in air and Oliver latched onto her neck immediately, his lips sucking at the skin just below her ear where she knew she was pumping out some serious pheromones at the moment.She knew she should care that his desire was only driven by biology, that the Alpha in him could not resist the Omega in her, but the little nibbles he was giving her neck made her not care. In fact, as long as he kept doing what he was doing right now, Felicity doubted she’d ever care about anything ever again. 

“Oliver,” she groaned, arching back and giving him more of her neck to explore. 

“Do you want me, Felicity?” he growled into her skin. 

“I want you,” she gasped as he bit sharply at her tender flesh. “I _need_ you.”

“Say it again.”

“I want you…”

Another growl.“Again.” He reached down, grabbing at her bottom and squeezing hard with his strong hands.

“Ah!I need you! Oliver!”

“Felicity…”

“Oh…. Please… I need you.” She heard the whine in her own voice but didn’t care. She felt like she was about to burst into flames. 

Oliver stepped back and she nearly protested at the loss of his body heat but then he quickly stripped off his shirt.The sight of his toned torso right there in front of her distracted her from anything she’d been about to say and do. Felicity leaned forward, bracing her arms on the firm muscles of his chest and put her lips to the dip between his pecs.He made a rumbling sound in his chest, which only spurred her on, causing her to dip her tongue out and taste the skin there, salty and strong.  

“Felicity,” Oliver groaned, pushing at her shoulders so she had to step back.Then, he was pulling off her shirt and she realized this was an excellent plan.Now, she could feel his skin against hers. Oh, but there was that pesky bra in the way… 

She reached behind her and flick the catch, causing the garment to fall from her chest and Felicity tossed it aside without a thought before pressing herself against him one more. She groaned loudly; it felt so good to feel him right there, his heart pounding almost in time with hers, the rough and sparse hairs of his chest stimulating the soft skin of hers as she pressed up into him.  

“More,” she moaned as he continued to cup and massage her ass while his other hand spanned her back, holding her against him. 

“Yes…”

Oliver released her again but this time he spun her around so she was facing away, out into the room.Her eyes fixed on the wide bed situated in the center of the room.Very soon, they would be on that bed, doing all manner of unspeakable things. Felicity bit her lip as she felt Oliver reach around to unzip her jeans.She wiggled her hips as he pulled the denim down over her hips, pushing it down her legs. He pulled her shoes off so she could step out of the legs. 

Shifting, Felicity kicked the unwanted garment aside, not caring if she ever saw it again.It felt so much better not to have all that _fabric_ covering her. Oliver pushed his hands between her legs from behind, cupping her sex. 

“I can feel how wet you are, Felicity,” he groaned into her ear. “How long have you been wet?”

“S—Since the foundry. Oliver…”

“Your body is getting ready for me, so wet and warm. Your body needs mine.”

“Yesss…”

With a sharp tug, Oliver tore her underwear from her body.She stood before him, completely naked now. Under normal circumstances, Felicity might have felt a little self-conscious or exposed. But now, she just felt regret that Oliver wasn’t as unclothed as she was. Before she could turn around and remedy that situation, Oliver reached for her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her back against him.Her bare ass rubbed against his jeans, causing a delicious friction. He banded an arm around her waist, gripping one of her breasts in his hand and stroking roughly.  

Again, the uncontrollable arousal crashed through her and then noises that left her throat weren’t any that she recognized ever having made before. Oliver growled and nipped at her neck, bending over her. He reached up and slipped her glasses off, setting them aside before nipping again where her neck met her shoulder.Felicity gasped. 

“Oliver… please,” she begged. 

He moved them forward until they reached the edge of the bed. With a hand, he nudged at her back and Felicity got the message.She crawled up onto the bed and he stopped her from going further by gripping her hip.  

“Stay there,” he said, his voice low. Felicity looked back over her shoulder to see Oliver unfastening his jeans and pushing them and his boxers down. He was… oh, holy _shit_. For two years she’d wondered about Oliver’s… And well… 

_Wow_. 

“Big boy,” she breathed.Oliver smirked at her, his eyes dark as he took his half-hard cock in hand and gave it a few rough pumps. 

When he saw her lick her lips in response, his eyes darkened further, the smirk fading into a more intense expression. She could see his cock grow and lengthen and felt a thrill that she was turning him on so much. He stepped up to the edge of the bed and grabbed for her hips, yanking them up and back. 

“Put your feet on the floor,” Oliver instructed, still pulling back on her hips. She did as he asked, slipping her legs off the bed until she felt the plush carpet under her toes. Before she could fully find her footing, Oliver kicked her legs apart and stepped between then so she was spread before him. Her toes left the carpet but his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her hips held her in place.  

With one hand, he again reached between her legs, dragging his fingers through her folds.“Soaked,” he said with appreciation. “Puffy and pink and perfect. God, and you smell _amazing_.”

“Oliver…”

“I’ve never smelled anyone so amazing… Omegas, Betas…”

“…Please!”

“I would have liked to take my time, drive you to the edge again and again… explore you from head to toe…”

Maybe there was a time when what he describing would have sounded amazing but right then, Felicity was nearly out of her mind.Her heart was racing, she was sweating all over and her breath was coming in harsh pants. “Oliver!”

“Another time, maybe,” he murmured and then, in one swift thrust of his hips, he buried himself inside of her. 

Oliver’s cock filled her in a way she’d never been filled before in her life.She pushed her hips back, wanting more of the deliciously full sensation but he pulled back, leaving just the tip inside her.Then, he slammed into her again, causing her to cry out and grab the comforter in her fists. 

“Jesus, you feel perfect,” he groaned as he set up a quick, punishing pace.“So tight, so hot, so soft…”

“Harder!” she gasped, arching her back. She had almost no range of movement, completely helpless as his hips snapped into hers.The sounds of their flesh impacting and both of their moans filled the room and it was so obscene, so _base_ , that it ramped up her arousal even further.Felicity wiggled her hips a little, needing more, her spine on fire, the arousal burning through her until she was sure her heart was going to burst.  

“Felicity,” Oliver gasped.“Touch yourself… you gotta… ahhh… reach down and touch yourself, baby.”

Felicity released the comforter and reach down and underneath, feeling for her clit. She was surprised to find it enlarged and stiff… she’d never experienced that before. At the first touch of her fingers, her hips jumped and Oliver groaned, his fingers tightening on her hips. 

“Keep going,” he urged, sounding more choked. 

Felicity circled her finger around the hardened nub and felt her inner walls clench around Oliver’s plunging cock.“Yes,” he groaned, thrusting harder and faster. “Yes, just like that.”

It felt _amazing_. Each touch blazed her arousal higher and higher until she knew her toes were curling and her back was curved.She’d never been this turned on in her life, never had sex ever felt like _this_. 

“Come now, Felicity.Please… come for me.”

His hips were stuttering and she knew he was close. She switched from circling her clit to flicking it with her fingertip and that caused her to finally shatter, her vision whiting out.She cried out as the release pulsed through her, causing her to clench all over and Oliver shouted his own release. She could feel him coating her inside with his seed, and god help her, that felt _so good_.  

Oliver leaned over her, his chest pressed to her back while he fought to catch his breath.Felicity also was gulping air, finally feeling the fire recede within her, blessed relief taking its place.  

After a moment, Oliver lifted himself up and she shuddered as he pulled slowly out of her.Then, he was gathering her in his arms and pulling her up on the bed until her head rested on a pillow.He spooned in behind her, his arms still wrapped around her, holding her against him. 

“Oliver…” she began, not even knowing what she wanted to say but feeling she should say _something_.Had they really just _done that_?

“Shhh,” he whispered.“Sleep now, while you can.”

She didn’t want to sleep, she wanted to figure out what to do next. But the exhaustion was pulling at her and combined with the warm safety of his arms, Felicity finally succumbed to blissful rest. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mating heat continues...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didn't post over the weekend. My birthday was Saturday and I didn't feel like editing on my birthday (since editing is my nemesis) and yesterday... I'm not sure what my excuse is for yesterday. But I got this edited last night and so now here it is! Thanks for being patient. 
> 
> I've added some tags for this chapter. Be forewarned that there is more explicit smut this chapter so if that's not your thing, best to skip this one. Because that's pretty much _all_ this chapter is. I had some people who were concerned over the consent issues in a story like this and I'm not going to lie; that's definitely part of the trope. I posted some links on last chapter's author's note that talk about this particular trope within fanworks and what sort of story you can expect. If this isn't your thing, no shame in backing out and saying its not for you. As for consent, maybe this chapter will set you at ease some. I wanted to make it clear that they are both more than happy to be there. The timing/situation/etc aren't ideal but this is just a catalyst as much as anything else (locked in a closet/Felicity being kidnapped/Oliver almost dying/Any other catalyst you'd see in any other fic that brings the two of them together). It just happens to involve a LOT more sex. So there's that. 
> 
> At the end of the day, this story isn't about unresolved sexual tension, as most fics are. It's about unresolved romantic tension. (Which is your warning that things will shift in the coming chapter!)

When Felicity woke, the room was dark.Or at least, that’s what she thought when she first blinked her eyes open.As she gained her bearings, she noticed a small lamp over by the window was lit and Oliver was standing there, doing something on the table there that she couldn’t see.He was 100%, absolutely and gloriously _naked_.

With a soft groan at the soreness of her muscles, Felicity rolled over, pulling the sheet up to her chest.Oliver turned at the noise and smiled.  

“I figured you’d be waking up soon. I wanted to get this ready before you did.”

“Get what ready?” she asked, patting her ponytail. Her hair was a mess, little hairs sticking out in a halo around her face. Sighing, she reached up and pulled out the elastic, letting her hair fall around her shoulders. 

“The front desk sent up some food.Its part of the service since we, errr… need to keep up our energy,” he explained, his eyes skating over her and she could feel that gaze like a weight on her skin. 

Felicity flushed and was slightly alarmed with the heat remained, suffusing her out to her fingertips. Just like before.She lifted a hand to look at it, almost as though she was expecting to see evidence. 

“How are you doing?” Oliver asked, watching her. 

“I think it’s coming back,” she murmured. 

Oliver walked over to her, carrying a tall glass of water and a plate of meats and cheeses which he set on the bed before sitting down next to her. “Have something to eat first,” he told her, handing her the glass. 

Felicity took a long drink, enjoying the way the cool liquid soothed her dry throat. “Thanks,” she murmured as she set the glass down on the table next to the bed. “So… It comes back?”

Oliver cocked his head at her, smiling a little. “Didn’t you take biology in school?”

“Of course!I just… I don’t know. I don’t remember much about this Alpha and Omega stuff. I hadn’t presented yet and then when I did, I just went on suppressants. I didn’t figure it would ever be something I needed to know.”

“But didn’t you think that someday you would find an Alpha?” he asked, selecting a square of cheese from the plate and popping it into his mouth. 

Felicity shrugged. “I don’t know. My college boyfriend was a Beta and I thought he and I were going to be together forever.” There was no stopping the wobble that entered her voice as she recalled Cooper. It was so long ago, she hadn’t thought about him in a long time. She’d never told anyone here in Starling about him either. “Anyhow. ‘Happily ever after’ hasn’t been something I’ve thought a lot about lately.”

“I guess I can understand that,” Oliver said. “When I presented as an Alpha, I was dating Laurel, who’s a Beta. It messed with my head. I thought I had to be with an Omega. I cheated… a _lot_.”

“It’s a lot of pressure on a kid who’s just barely legal,” Felicity murmured, munching on a slice of salami. 

“Mmm,” he hummed in agreement. “So you really don’t know much about a mating heat, do you?”

“I know the basics, that it’s cyclical, that its purpose is procreation…” Felicity trailed off as she realized what she’d just said. Her eyes grew wide and she looked up at Oliver.“Oh no!”

“Hey… relax.Okay?This isn’t a hundred years ago. There’s measures we can take,” Oliver assured her.“If that’s what you want.”

“Yes, that’s what I want!I’m only 25!I’m too young to have children. And you… and I… and just…” Felicity snapped her mouth shut, afraid of saying something wrong. 

“It’s okay, Felicity.I know.”

“So… Its like… Plan B?” she asked, nibbling on a square of cheese, feeling the heat of her embarrassment lingering on her cheeks. Or maybe that was her own heat, returning for round two.The thought of that just made her blush harder. 

“Yes, more or less. But altered specifically for our biology.”

“Got it.”

“So… you’re feeling the heat returning?” he asked, watching her and he had to be noticing the pinking of her cheeks. 

Felicity nodded. “I think so.It’s starting to… prickle a bit? Now that I know what it feels like… it’s almost like getting a fever.”

“Well, this time we’re ready for it,” he told her with a smile.He was trying to put her at ease and she appreciated it more than she could have ever said. 

“Oliver… I’m sorry to trap you here with me but… I’m so glad you’re here.”

His smile warmed.“I’m glad too.” He lifted the plate and set it on the table next to the other side of the bed before turning back to her.“And now, we can take our time with round two.”

Her cheeks heated again and Oliver’s eyes skated over her face and down to her chest, where she was clutching the sheet.He reached up and plucked the sheet from her fingers, pulling it away and exposing her to his gaze. It was one thing when she was caught up in her heat, but she was feeling calmer now and, as such, a little more unsure of herself.Oliver seemed to sense this. 

“Felicity,” he murmured, stroking a finger over the top of her breast, making her shiver a little.“You’re beautiful.I knew you would be.”

He’d never before told her anything like that, not even when she’d dressed up to go undercover. It felt unreasonably _good_ to hear him compliment her. But she couldn’t think about that, it was a dangerous avenue for her thoughts.  

Then, as he leaned forward and kissed across where his finger had just stroked, she _really_ couldn’t think about that or anything else but the way his scruff felt as it scratched over the sensitive skin of her breasts. Instead of the roughness of his beard hurting, it woke her nerve endings up and Felicity arched her back to bring more of her skin in contact with him. 

“You like a little pain, do you?” he murmured, nipping along her breast until he reached her nipple.He sucked it into his mouth without waiting for her answer and she could feel his tongue circling the sensitive tip.Then, he bit down.Just hard enough to send all that sensation directly to her core.  

“Oliver!” she cried out, grabbing at his head and yanking on the short strands of hair there. 

He skated a roughened hand down over her abdomen, teasing around her belly button before dipping down between her legs and stroking her there.She could feel how wet she was from the dampness that coated her thighs.How did he do that to her?Was it all the heat? Or was it the dark hooded smile he was giving her as he kissed across to her other breast to give it a similar treatment? Was it his touch?Hell, he knew _exactly_ how to touch her. 

His fingers teased through her folds, circling her clit before dipping into her entrance.He was ramping her up until she was just as mindless as she’d been when they’d first arrived here.It didn’t take long at all before she was keening loudly, her voice echoing off the soundproof walls.Yet again, she felt as though she was going to burst out of her skin if he didn’t fill her right then. 

“Oliver, please!”

“What do you need, Felicity,” he asked, sounding entirely too calm. His tongue licked around her nipple and his fingers were infuriatingly slow as he casually stroked at her without doing what he knew she needed. 

“I need… guh…” Felicity arched her back, trying to bring more of her body into contact with him. Anytime she got close enough for enough friction, he would pull away or he’d push her back down.She grunted in annoyance. 

“Tell me, Felicity.”

“Oliver…”

“I want to hear you. Tell me.”

His teeth brushed against her nipple, giving her just a taste of sensation, enough to make her gasp loudly.“Oliver!Ah!Fuck me!I need you to fuck me!”

“Was that so hard?” he asked, a smirk twisting his mouth as he drew away from her breast. 

Felicity didn’t have a chance to complain before he was sitting back on his heels and moving her legs so that they rested against this shoulders. He stroked down her legs before grabbing his cock and moving up against her, rubbing the thick tip through her folds, gathering her moisture and teasing her clit. She squirmed on the bed, grabbing at the sheets since he was too far away for her to touch. 

“Felicity… Eyes on me.”

She didn’t want to. She wanted to screw her eyes shut so she didn’t see his own watching her. She wanted to close out the world so she could focus on all the amazing sensations he was helping her to feel and embrace.But the command in his voice wouldn’t be ignored. Felicity lifted her eyes to meet his and as soon as they locked gazes, he plunged into her.He groaned as his hips met with the soft flesh of her ass.  

“Jesus, I’ll never get used to how good this feels,” he muttered as he started to pump in and out of her.All Felicity could do was hold onto the sheets, keep her eyes on his, and just _feel_. 

The fire inside her burned higher and higher, but never engulfing her the way she needed it to. She could feel the sweat pouring down her neck and her muscles strained to release but Oliver kept up his pace, watching her so carefully but never coming undone himself.How did he _do_ that?

“More!” she cried, unable to help herself. “Oliver, please!”

He didn’t reply but he shifted, moving her legs down to the crooks of his elbows so he could lean over her, his chest brushing against hers.The base of his cock rubbed her clit as he continued to thrust and _oh holy shit_ that was totally going to do it for her. 

But then… he released one of her legs, encouraging her to curl it over his waist.With his hand free, he reached down and she thought he was going for her clit, to rub the aching nub and bring her to another brilliant climax. But then he kept moving down, down, down… 

His fingers gathered some of the wetness that coated her where his cock was plunging in and out of her before drawing one finger down to her puckered hole and rubbed her there, ever so slightly.No one had ever done that to her before and it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to stop but then… Felicity realized that it felt _good_. 

Her hips moved against his cock and against that finger that continued to rub. He was persistent but not overwhelming… and Felicity felt that fever quickly begin to overtake her.  

“Oliver… oh god, I’m going to… I’m—“

“Let go, baby,” he murmured and he finally sounded just as strained as she felt.Knowing that he was feeling the fire along with her was enough to send her over the top and her body exploded into sensation. 

Right when she clenched around him, that finger at her back hole pushed inside. Not far, just the tip of his finger, but enough so that for one glorious, amazing moment, Felicity felt utterly filled and utterly wrecked all at the same time. Oliver thrust several more times, slamming his hips into hers before stilling and gasping out his own release.  

Felicity felt even more sated than she had after their first round. She could do little more than moan pathetically as Oliver laid next to her and pulled her against his side.Then, with the heat seeping away from her nerves, sleep claimed her.

***

The cycle of sleeping, eating and fucking continued throughout the night. The next time Felicity woke up, she found Oliver on his phone, tapping out a text.He told her that he was sending messages to Dig and Roy, letting him know that the two of them were busy out of town and they’d be back in a couple days. 

That had made Felicity sit straight up in bed. 

“My searches!I had searches going on the computers down in the foundry!We have to find Shaw before the trail goes cold!” she cried. 

Oliver lifted a hand.“Felicity, relax. I told Dig about the searches and he and Roy are on it. They won’t let Shaw get away.Dig knows enough to follow what you’ve already set up.”

“But—“

“I know it’s not ideal, the timing isn’t the best, but this is more important right now, Felicity.”

“Oliver… I just— This is all because of me and I hate that. I want to catch this guy so badly!”

“We all do. This isn’t your fault. In a couple days, you’ll be good and we’ll get back to chasing him down. I promise.”

It still bothered her though, as they munched on the next snack the sanctuary had provided (sandwiches and chips this time).Felicity wasn’t the sort that just shirked her responsibilities.She also wasn’t the sort that could ignore that there was a madman on the loose in town, targeting women, assaulting them and then murdering them, leaving them for dead. Then again… this heat of hers was kind of like an “act of God” type deal. There was no planning for something like this. It wasn’t her fault.

“I know it bothers you,” Oliver said, his voice gentler. “But we have to trust Dig and Roy to not let anything bad happen. That’s what teammates do.”

“I know,” she said, feeling bad for doubting her friends. She shouldn’t. She was also impressed at how willing Oliver was to embrace teamwork; when she’d first joined up with him and Diggle he’d been reluctant to even admit he needed any help at all. 

“I think you’re not used to taking time for yourself,” he said before he polished off the remains of his sandwich and wiped his hands on a paper towel.

Felicity opened her mouth to protest, but the problem was, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken a vacation. “Does this count?” she asked him sheepishly.

Oliver chuckled and took her plate from her. “Yes, it counts,” he told her. “Now.Let’s go take a shower.”

A shower sounded like a fantastic idea, now that he mentioned it.They hadn’t exactly been _neat_ in their two romps so far and she was feeling a little on the nasty side. Grinning, she took his hand and let him lead her into the adjoining bathroom.  

Like the room, it wasn’t anything terribly fancy but it had wonderful amenities. There was a large tub with jets that looked more like a jacuzzi than anything else. The shower took up an entire corner of the room, and featured glass walls, a bench and multiple shower-heads. 

“Tub or shower?” Oliver asked her. 

Felicity bit her lip as she considered both options. The tub sounded marvelous but right now, she was mostly interested in getting clean. “The shower.”

Oliver turned on the taps, getting the water heated up for them while she rooted around for shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the cabinets.Again, it was nothing fancy but the products were definitely serviceable.Oliver was already standing under the spray when she joined him, bottles in hand.He took them from her, setting them on a small shelf before he took her by the shoulders and faced her away from him.  

“Here, let me,” he said.Then, he poured some shampoo in his hands and began to wash her hair.Felicity was about to protest or at least joke about how this wasn’t in the Alpha/Omega mating heat contract, but his fingers on her scalp felt so good that she didn’t want him to stop.When he was done, she turned and took the body wash off the shelf, squirting some in her hand before soaping him up, paying extra attention to the hard planes of his chest as well as his cock which had been half hard since they’d gotten under the water. 

Oliver let her wash him, watching her with warm eyes as she soaped him up with her fingers, letting them run all over his body, dipping into special spots that she’d admired all those times when he’d been shirtless and exercising.He was so hard all over, from his shoulders, to his abs, to the hip muscles which jutted out and lead her eye down to his cock.And, lord, his cock was amazing. There was nothing small about Oliver Queen and from the slight smile on his lips as he watched her, he knew it.  

“You’re incorrigible,” Felicity told him, trying to sound prim but the effect was ruined by her fingers stroking over his heated flesh. 

Oliver returned the favor, soaping her up until she was slippery with it. His hand slid over her skin and Felicity felt her body respond, heat up, and come alive under his touch.He kissed her, a deeply possessive kiss that thrilled her and stoked those fires inside of her.They shifted until they were both under the spray of the shower head, the water washing away the soap and adding a whole other layer of sensation to the sensual assault. He wrapped around her, physically crowding her against the wall of the shower as he continued to move his mouth over hers.Soon, she was whining and wriggling against him. 

He pulled his mouth away and nipped her chin.“Felicity… hold onto me tight.”

These were definitely _not_ platonic circumstances. Her heart pounding, Felicity gripped Oliver’s shoulders while he bent his knees and grabbed the backs of her thighs.When he straightened, he pulled her up off the floor and Felicity automatically wrapped her legs around his waist.His cock brushed against where she was already aching for him.It made no sense that she would want him this much after they’d already had explosive sex, not just once, not twice, but quite a few times. But she craved the feel of him filling her as if she’d been denied for years instead of a small handful of hours. 

There wasn’t much foreplay this time, it wasn’t needed for either of them.Oliver held her secure as he pushed her against the glass wall of the shower. A moment later, he thrust into her and their combined shouts echoed through the bathroom. He stretched her, almost to the point of pain but it was a pain that only ratcheted her arousal up further.Her nails bit into his shoulders as she arched against him, her breasts rubbing against the coarse hair on his chest. 

Oliver bent his head, nibbling at her neck and shoulders as he pounded into her, the wet slaps of their joining filling her ears.It was hard and fast and absolutely perfect. Felicity could do nothing besides hold on and _feel_.And shout out when his cock hit that perfect spot inside her over, and over, and over again.

He didn’t even need to tell her to come this time. He didn’t need to touch her clit and she didn’t need to grind her hips. Her orgasm spilled over her like flood water over a dam. Oliver grunted this own release, spilling inside her as his fingers dug into the cheeks of her ass.  

“Shit, that was perfect,” she gasped as she tried to find her breath again. 

“Fuck,” Oliver said into the wet skin of her neck. 

After they both regained their bearings, Oliver lowered Felicity to the floor of the shower and she expected him to quip something, but instead he lifted a hand and brushed her damp hair out of her face. There was an odd look on his face but before she could ask him about it, he leaned down and kissed her.  

It was a soft kiss, more gentle than he’d been with her so far.Felicity trembled a little which caused him to draw back.But it wasn’t the cooling water that was making her shake.  

No, that was something else altogether. 

***

After the first day of their quarantine, Felicity began to notice that more time elapsed between what she was starting to call her “heat waves”.At first, she only was able to get a couple hours rest before she needed Oliver again.But now, she was able to sleep for five-six hours, have a meal and actually talk with Oliver before her heat started to surge again.  

There was a television in the room, which Felicity had questioned at first when her heat had been so constant and mindless.Who could watch television under those circumstances?But now, she found watching movies with Oliver during their “down time” to be a great way to pass the time.It also helped her to forget that they were leaving the rest of the team high and dry on the Shaw case.Oliver had taken her cell phone, prohibiting her from obsessing over what might be happening out in the world.He used his and promised to keep her in the loop on anything that needed to be known but so far he hadn’t told her anything.She just had to trust that everything was okay. 

And she did.She always trusted Oliver. 

Even if her fingers twitched a little, wanting to check her email.But this is where the television and movies came in handy. 

Right now, Oliver was sitting with his back against the headboard of the bed and Felicity was leaning back against him, sitting between his legs and stroking the hair on those legs while they watched some legal thriller that she couldn’t remember the title of. They were naked, as putting clothes on the last couple of days had become rather pointless but Felicity had a blanket tucked over her to keep the chill of the room at bay. Oliver had his arms around her, holding her against him and for the first time in the last two days, Felicity was able to just enjoy the warmth and companionship without her body instantly ramping up into arousal overdrive.It was… nice. 

They munched on popcorn and discussed the trite plot as they watched.When she wasn’t giggling at the plot holes or what an awful lawyer the leading lady was, Felicity’s mind drifted back over the last two days.She’d never had so much sex in her life and before all this she might have felt a little embarrassed by it.Now, though, she was feeling pretty smug and satisfied.It wasn’t just the quantity of the sex, but the _quality_.But, holy hell, there was quantity too.  

She’d lost count of how many times they’d fucked since they’d arrived at the sanctuary.She noticed that when Oliver seemed to be feeling particularly desperate, he would fuck her when she was on all fours, or on her stomach.He would also grab at her ass a lot, which Felicity was a bit alarmed to discover she enjoyed.The bite of his fingers added something.

Her favorite position so far, if she was forced to pick one, was him on top of her.She was able to really focus on his eyes, the way he looked at her as he pounded into her. She could touch him, his face, his shoulders, his back.That said, they hadn’t really done her on top yet.Anytime they had started out with her straddling him, he’d ended up flipping them over.And sitting up with her in his lap didn’t quite count, did it? Maybe that would have to change. 

As though on cue, Felicity started to feel the stirring of her heat resurfacing.The hairs on the back of her neck, where she could feel Oliver’s breath, stood up and she became extra aware of how he was stroking her arm as he watched the movie from behind her.  

“How are you doing?” he asked her, his voice rumbling in her ear and his breath brushing at the hairs.This was how he’d been gauging her heats over the last day or so… by asking her how she was doing, to see if she was feeling a return to those primal hormones.  

“I’m starting to feel it,” she told him honestly. 

Oliver made a muffled noise. “Good, because I’ve been half hard for this entire movie and you smell fucking _amazing_.”

The reminder that he could smell her and that her pheromones were that potent to him caused another surge of heat to course through her. Felicity turned in his arms, getting on her knees as she faced him. She leaned up and pecked at his lips before drawing back. 

“Can I make a request this time?” 

Oliver’s eyebrows went up but his eyes stayed warm on hers.“I’m intrigued…”

“Can I be on top this time?” she asked, pursing her lips as she trailed a finger down his collar bone. 

“You’ve been on top before…” Oliver pointed out. 

“You always flip us. I just… want to see what its like to stay there. I think my heat is almost done and I just…” Felicity trailed off, not sure what she should or shouldn’t say.She was starting to feel a bit nostalgic, which felt odd mixed with her rising hormones.And it wasn’t the time to be wallowing in those sorts of thoughts anyhow.Reality was going to intrude soon, whether she wanted it to or not, and she’d rather embrace what she had right now and deal with the rest later. 

“We can do that,” Oliver agreed softly.“Whatever you want, Felicity.”

Did he know how much it turned her on when he said things like that?

She shifted back on the bed and Oliver followed, laying down with his head on the pillow, propped up just enough that he could watch her.Felicity tossed the blanket away so that she was unencumbered before getting up on her knees and, straddling him, “walked” up to his waist.She took his wrists and pulled them up, over his head.Her breasts swung in his face and she looked down to see him watching, his eyes dark and focused. 

“Hold onto the headboard,” she told him. 

“Yes ma’am,” he replied, curling his fingers around the post.  

Felicity scooted back, bent down and brushed kisses over his face, paying attention to his cheekbones, his chin… before moving down his neck and towards his chest.She kept moving like that, laying kisses and gentle nibbles as she worked down.When her core was lined up with his cock, she stopped.She leaned up on her knees, rising over him, and reached back to take his hard length in hand.He was so hot and so ready, precum already wetting his tip and she stroked him like that, her hand behind her but her eyes focused on him. 

When she brushed her thumb over the fat head, Oliver’s eyes drifted shut and he shifted on the bed.He kept his hands wrapped around the headboard post but she noticed the knuckles turning white with strain. 

“Do you like my fingers on you?” she asked him as she moved her hips back.She brought her hand around to the front before grasping him again, this time rubbing his cock through her folds.  

Oliver gasped and arched.“Yes,” he hissed. “God, your fingers are fucking _perfect_.”

“Better than my mouth?” she asked.She’d given him a blow job just once since this all began and Oliver had completely lost it before admitting that her giving him a blow job was something he’d fantasized heavily about since her days as his executive assistant. 

“Well…”

“How about my pussy?” she asked and Oliver’s eyes flashed onto hers.She’d discovered he really responded to dirty talk. It wasn’t something she excelled at, but seeing how much it turned him on fueled her.“Do my fingers feel better than my pussy squeezing you tight?” 

“Ffff….” Oliver bit off a groan.She squeezed his cock for emphasis.“Nothing feels better than your pussy, Felicity.”

Felicity grinned.That was exactly what she wanted to hear. Slowly, she sank down on him, flexing her inner muscles as she stretched to accommodate him. Oliver made a strangled noise but kept his eyes fixed on her until her pelvis met his.Then, she began to rock her hips. 

This angle meant that her clit rubbed against him almost continually and Felicity chased that sensation mercilessly, arching her back and circling her hips faster and faster. She brought her hands up and squeezed her breasts, pinching her nipples with her fingers.When she looked, she saw Oliver’s eyes on hers, his hands still gripping the headboard.The sweat was standing out on his forehead and he licked his lips, focusing in on her fingers and watching how she pleasured herself.  

She moaned as the pinches sent little frissons of pleasure down to her core.Her hips moved faster, this time, rising off of his length a little and slamming back down again.Soon, she was bouncing in his lap, her breasts bouncing too and adding another layer of sensation to what she was doing with her nipples. 

“Yes,” he moaned. “Just like that.Ride me…”

Seeing Oliver come undone underneath her filling her with a new kind of pleasure and she wanted to take him even higher.Using her knees and thighs, she lifted off of him and slammed back down over and over again.On a loud groan, Oliver shifted his legs, bringing his heels up against the mattress and then… he started to buck his hips into her. 

_Holy shit_. 

The combination of her riding him and him thrusting into her from this angle sent her immediately into overdrive.She pinched her nipples harder, crying out. 

“Oliver!Oh… fuck!Harder!More!”

“Fuck, Felicity!Shit, keep going, baby!”

As if she could stop.Felicity moved like she never had before, her hips snapping towards his, meeting his thrusts and they were so perfectly in sync that she felt like her heart was going to burst. 

“Touch your clit!” he demanded, his voice strained. 

Felicity released one of her breasts and reached down for where they were joined, feeling his cock pistoning in and out of her before finding her stiff nub andrubbing it harshly in time with their thrusts. 

“Oh!Oh, god!Oliver!Oliver!” Her voice was breaking on her cries but she couldn’t help herself.She felt as if she was about to explode.Her heat engulfed her, drowning out everything but the feel of Oliver’s cock driving into her g-spot over and over again.

“Oh… fuck!Felicity!”

At the sound of her name being shouted from his lips, Felicity flew over the edge… and kept flying.She soared higher and higher until there was nothing but white nothingness.

Then… there was warmth.Strong arms surrounded her, pulled her back down from the clouds and brought her into more warmth. Felicity’s senses slowly returned to her and she realized she was breathing hard, her heart was hammering and her face and chest were covered with sweat.

“Oliver?” 

He was holding her, spooning against her, covering her with his body and pressing kisses to the side of her head.“I’m here.”

Felicity relaxed in his embrace, feeling the pillow and mattress beneath her.She’d never blacked out (or was it _whited_ out?) during an orgasm before and the reality was a little alarming.“I can’t believe I did that,” she murmured. 

Oliver chuckled a little, still kissing along her hairline. “What a way to go, huh?”

“That was… that was pretty amazing,” she admitted. 

“It was more than just amazing.” 

Felicity drifted off with the feel of Oliver’s lips on her face, his arms holding her tight, his body warming hers.And she felt… at peace. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's heat is over and what happens next? Can they return to how it was between them or is that just a fool's dream?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm glad so many of you enjoyed yesterday's rather smutty chapter. I'm sorry to say that this chapter has none of that goodness. In fact, I'm going to put a "Wine and Chocolates" warning on this one. As in: you'll probably want to have either or both of those items on hand when you read. I got choked up both when I was writing and when I was editing! Make of that what you will... 
> 
> As I said previously, this is a story about unresolved romantic tension. Remember, this takes place after season 2 finished, after the love confession in the mansion (which was actually real, of course). It's the time of peak tension between them, I believe, and that's why I chose to set the story here. 
> 
> Anyhow, enjoy the heartache!

When Felicity woke, it felt like she’d been asleep for days.Her body resisted, wanting to stay burrowed in the cocoon of blankets for at least another five hours.The sun was shining through the curtains, however, and she realized after a moment that Oliver was no longer beside her.  

Blinking back the remains of sleep, Felicity sat up in bed, pulling the blankets up to her chest.She felt as though she’d run a marathon.Every inch of her body ached and her head pounded like she’d drunk a whole bottle of tequila the night before.  

She didn’t see Oliver in the room, but realized she could hear the water running in the bathroom.He must be in the shower.Which was… strange. The last couple of days they had taken showers together.They’d done _everything_ together. Feeling a little bereft, Felicity glanced around and saw another tray had been delivered while she was asleep.There was fresh orange juice, toast and fruit.Wrapping the blanket around herself ( _seriously… where were her clothes?_ ), she scooted down off the bed and to the table where she sat and took a long drink of the juice.  

It didn’t help her headache, but it soothed her raw throat.Her mind raced, trying to catch up with what was happening.She didn’t feel any tingling awareness, no vestiges of her heat.Had it passed?The thought of that being the reason Oliver wasn’t with her right now sat like a rock in her stomach.She picked at the fruit without any real enthusiasm.She wished they’d sent up coffee instead. 

The water went off in the bathroom and Felicity was tempted to get up and go to Oliver but she thought better of it.Maybe he wanted space right now.All the insecurities that Felicity had kept at bay the last two days came rushing back in.She wondered again where her clothes were. 

“Ah, good.You’re awake,” Oliver said as he stepped back into the room.He was dressed in the shirt and jeans he wore the other night.When he saw her noticing his attire, he stopped and glanced down at himself.“The sanctuary had our clothes laundered for us. Yours are in the bathroom, folded and ready.”

“Ah,” Felicity said.She was unsure what else to say.Why was he standing clear over there?Why was he having a hard time meeting her eyes?  

“How are you doing?” he asked and Felicity felt a pang.Before, he’d always asked that with a flirtatious grin, a glint in his eye.Now, he was looking over into the corner of the room and seemed hesitant.Her heart ached. 

“I, uh… I’m fine, I think.No symptoms. I think we’re in the clear.”She looked back to the tray, at the piece of toast she’d been about to eat but was now picking at.  

“Oh really?”He sounded hopeful.He crossed the room to the phone on the table next to the bed and lifted the receiver. “I’ll call down to the front desk, have them send someone up with a scanner.If you’re clear, then I guess it’s done.”

The pit in her stomach grew and Felicity tossed her toast aside.“Can I take a shower first?” she asked, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.  

Oliver replaced the receiver and dipped his head.“Sure.I’ll wait to call until you get out.” 

Felicity avoided looking at him as she got up and hurried into the bathroom.There was no door between the bathroom and the rest of the room, the shower and tub area were open while the toilet was in a small separate room. She didn’t look back to see if he was watching and she rather hoped he wasn’t.She felt small, all of a sudden, unsure of herself.She wanted to get clean. 

As if a shower could wash away the last two days. 

She turned the taps on to the hottest she could bear and tossed the blanket away before stepping under the spray.The water stung; it was hotter than she usually preferred.But she stood under the onslaught, and imagined the scalding water was clearing away all the signs of the previous two days.  

She wondered if Oliver had done the same thing. 

Felicity tried to focus on washing her hair and trying to use the heated spray to ease the kinks her muscles were in.She was less successful than she would have hoped and finally gave up, getting out and toweling off. She found her clothes, folded in a neat pile on the counter.She slipped back into her bra, shirt and jeans.Her underwear wasn’t in the pile and Felicity honestly couldn’t remember what had happened to it.Though, considering how mindless she’d been when they’d arrived at the sanctuary, she could just about imagine. 

The sanctuary provided a brush, blow dryer, and some hair products in addition to the toothbrushes and toothpaste they’d discovered two days ago. No makeup… she’d have to make do with the lipstick she had in her purse.Her purse…. Did she have her purse here?God, she hoped she had her purse here.Otherwise, it was at the foundry and hiring a cab to take her home would be hard if she didn’t have money with her…

She was brushing out her hair when Oliver stepped into the bathroom.He looked even more hesitant than before. 

“I called the front desk and they’re sending the scanner up,” he told her. 

She turned and met his eye… before he dropped his gaze.“Oh. Okay.”

“They should be here in a minute,” he warned her. 

Okay, so she’d blow dry her hair later.She walked past him out into the room, still trying to calibrate herself to how he was distancing himself from her.She wasn’t sure if she should address it directly or play the evasion game like he seemed keen to do.  

“Do you know if I brought my purse with me?” she asked him as she glanced around the room. 

“Yes, you did.” He was quick to cross to the dresser and he opened a drawer, pulling out her purse. 

Felicity took it from him.“Thanks.”She dug inside until she found her favorite shade of bright pink lipstick and pulled it out.She used the mirror over the dresser to apply it, doing her best to avoid looking where Oliver stood behind her, watching her as though he expected her to explode or grow a second head all of a sudden. 

Once the lipstick was applied, Felicity felt loads better.She found her glasses tucked into her purse as well and slipped those on her nose.There wasn’t much she could do about her hair at the moment but the rest of her was already starting to look and feel more like her usual self.It helped.  

There was a knock at the door then, and Oliver stepped away to answer it.Felicity took a deep breath, trying to gather her nerve around her.She hadn’t prepared herself for the possibility he would act this way and it hurt more than she would have expected. 

One of the sanctuary staff entered the room, Oliver following along behind.She had scant memories of the scanner from two days before, but she did remember how Oliver had held her hand.Now, he stood behind the woman and just watched.As the lady ran the scanner over her, Felicity remembered how Oliver had reacted after hearing her condition after the initial scan.Had he not wanted to do this at all and had just… done her a favor? 

What about all the things he’d said to her?That she’d said to him? 

The woman straightened and looked at the readout on the scanner.“Okay, this says that the heat has definitely passed, your pheromone levels are back to normal.Looks like you guys are free to go.”

Felicity glanced at Oliver, but he just stood there, silent. She cleared her throat. “I heard you had some… preventative measures that I could take?For pregnancy?” she asked, her voice thin to her own ears. 

“Oh!” The woman looked a little surprised and she looked behind her at Oliver who was ducking his head again.She turned back and shook her head, as if clearing her ears.“Oh, sure, not a problem. Stop by the desk on your way out and we’ll go over the protocol with you.”

Felicity nodded and Oliver walked the woman out.She felt almost… _almost_ … numb. She bit her lip and reminded herself that she could fall apart later but _not now_.Right now, she had to hold it together. 

Oliver returned, his hands buried in his pockets. “So, I need to meet Diggle for some coffee.He wants to go over some of what’s gone on the last couple of days, get me up to speed.” 

“Oh.Should I go with you?Get the briefing as well?” she asked. 

Oliver shook his head.“I’ll make sure you’re caught up tonight.You’re planning to come to the foundry tonight, right?”

Felicity blinked. Why wouldn’t he want her at a meeting with Dig? Unless… unless he was just giving her an excuse why he had to leave.She deflated at that thought. 

“Uhm… sure?” 

“If you’re not feeling up to it, just let one of us know,” he told her.  

She was about to insist she felt fine but then she remembered the “protocol” she was going to have to take, to prevent pregnancy.Suddenly, she felt a little ill.There might be side-effects.She didn’t know if that prospect bothered her more or if it was Oliver’s knowledge of what those side-effects might be. 

“Are you going to be okay?Do you need a ride?” he asked her. 

Felicity considered, for one wild minute, saying yes and having him give her another lift on his Ducati.But then she thought about putting her arms around him, knowing he couldn’t wait to get away from her and knew her heart couldn’t bear it.She shook her head. “I’m just going to take a cab.But thanks.”

“Okay.Well, if you’re all set here, I’m going to get going.See you later?” Oliver looked like he was about ready to bolt for the door.  

“Sure.See you later.Thanks again, Oliver.”

“Don’t mention it.” 

Yeah, she just bet that’s what he wanted.After he left, she busied herself with drying her hair.After that, there wasn’t anything left to do so she grabbed her purse and headed for the elevator.She was shaking a little, a sure sign of an imminent breakdown, but Felicity was determined to hold on until she got home.  

Fuck. She was _never_ going to run out of suppressants again. She didn’t care if she had to sell a kidney.

At the front desk, she asked about the “protocol”.The woman who had scanned her must have made a note on her file because she was immediately ushered off to the side, into a little cubicle.Another staff member joined her there, her name-tag read “Joy” and she certainly looked like a Joy with her bright smile and sparkling eyes.  

“First, I have to ask you, are you sure you want to do this?” Joy asked as she pulled several packets of paperwork out of her files. 

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“And… the Alpha?As the Omega, you get final say, of course. But its standard protocol for us to ask if you have a relationship with the Alpha and what his thoughts are on you undergoing this procedure.”

Felicity cleared her throat. “He’s fine with it.And no, no relationship.I mean, friendship. I think we’re friends. I hope we’re still friends.But yeah, no.No relationship.” 

Joy smiled sympathetically at her and Felicity felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. 

“Okay, well here is the flyer that says what the procedure entails.Basically, it’s a shot that I administer and then you follow up in eight hours with these pills.This is 99% effective in preventing a pregnancy from implanting in your uterus.This paper here goes over the side-effects.You’ll start to feel these within a few hours, it’ll be like having the flu.You should be back to yourself in roughly two days.”

Felicity accepted the papers and felt her mood sink even further.Great, another two days out of commission.This was a nightmare.Yep, she was definitely never missing her suppressants again.Maybe she could sell her car and take the bus for the next year… 

“And I just need you to read this form, initial here and here, and then sign and date down here.”

Felicity took the offered paper and gave it a cursory glance. It was a standard waiver so she initialed, signed and dated it before passing it back across the desk. After that, it was pretty simple.She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and Joy injected her with a small syringe.Then, she handed her a small pill bottle along with the copy of instructions and side effects. 

“And the… bill?” Felicity asked, almost afraid to do so.She couldn’t imagine what all this would cost. 

“Oh, this will be included on the bill for your stay,” Joy assured her. 

“And… is that going to be mailed to me? Or do I handle that before I leave?”

Joy smiled.“Mr. Queen handled it before he left.It’s all taken care of.”

Felicity flushed.He’d _paid_ for everything too?Somehow, even though she hadn’t been sure how she would afford it, that made her feel even _worse._ “Oh.Okay.Thank you, Joy.”  

She stood up to leave and Joy stood as well, shaking her hand.“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Felicity bit her lip. “Can you call me a cab?I don’t have a car with me.”

“Sure, Ms. Smoak.”

Felicity waited by the front of the lobby for the cab to arrive and tried not to let everything overwhelm her.She was fighting a losing battle and willed that cab to show up before the dam finally broke. 

 

Two days later, Felicity was back at the foundry.It felt good to be back in front of her computers again but she also felt enormously uncomfortable.Oliver hadn’t shown up yet, but it was only a matter of time until he did.Roy was here when she arrived, working out on some of the equipment.He hadn’t asked her much about where she’d been, but he had asked if she was feeling better.Felicity guessed that Oliver had told him and maybe Diggle too that she’d just been sick.  

Fine by her.That was better than the truth. 

Dig had arrived about a half hour ago and after greeting her, had started doing stick drills with Roy, working on his speed and reflexes.Felicity had tuned both of them out as she worked on her computers, trying to get caught up on everything she’d missed. 

When she’d gotten back to her apartment after leaving the Sanctuary, Felicity had gone straight to her bed and cried.She’d cried for what felt like hours.Then she’d slept.When she woke again, it was dusk outside and she felt better.Well, maybe “better” wasn’t the right word.But she certainly felt like she could handle things.She had some dinner, watched some television and took her follow-up pills.  ***

The side-effects had kicked in not too long after that.She had some pain in abdomen, not unlike cramps, and the headache she’d had when she first woke up that morning had returned with a vengeance.After another hour of trying to watch television, she’d started to feel dizzy.That had lead to the nausea and vomiting.  

Oh, yeah. Fun stuff.  

Those symptoms lasted through the night and well into the next day.There was one wild moment where she’d thought maybe having a baby would have been preferable to this pain and misery. 

But then, she’d remembered how Oliver had acted when she last saw him.No, she couldn’t have a child under conditions like this.This was much better. She could handle it.She was a big girl.

And she did.She’d slept most of it off, feeling more exhausted than she had in her life, or at least since before the last few days.When she’d woken up near noon earlier that day, she’d felt much better and her headache had even gone away.There was a lingering pulling ache in her chest, but that could have been lingering effects from the heat and not the “procedure”.The important thing was that bulk of the physical remnants were past. 

It was done. 

Now began the business of getting on with life.It was clear that Oliver wanted to pretend like nothing major had happened.She put out of her mind how he’d told her how beautiful she was. How he’d imagined them together. How he’d touched her and made her feel.Felicity knew she had to get over it.There was too much on the line for her to get caught up in this. They were partners and what they did was too important to let this get in the way of that. 

A beeping following by a heavy clang signaled Oliver’s arrival at the foundry. Felicity felt her heart speed up but tried to keep her focus on running through her scans.  _Just another night of crime fighting_ , she reminded herself. _You can do this_. 

“Hey, Oliver,” Dig greeted. 

“Hey.Welcome back, Felicity,” he said to her as he passed behind her chair. There was nothing in his voice to hint that he even remembered what had happened between them. She felt more pulling in her chest. 

“Thanks,” she murmured, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation.

“Any breaks on finding Shaw?” he asked. 

“I’ve been running scans, but nothing has hit yet,” she replied. 

Then he moved away and started talking to Dig about ordering more supplies to make arrowheads with.Felicity kept her eyes on her monitors.Oliver might not have acted like anything had happened but the tension that filled the room with his arrival was palpable. 

A few minutes later, Oliver was calling for Roy to suit up.They were going on a patrol, apparently and Oliver barely gave her a backwards glance when they left.That stung, a little.  

Felicity kept an eye on her boys and checked her scans.There were no new leads on Shaw.During the time she’d been away, there’d been a few pings but nothing that shed any light on where he might be holing up now.Janie Perkins, the woman he’d abducted, was still in the hospital but was recovering.Felicity’s heart went out to the poor girl.She had no family locally and was new enough that she didn’t have many friends.Felicity contemplated dropping by to visit, but then how would she explain why she was there? She couldn’t even realistically send flowers, even anonymously because the police might think it was Shaw reaching out to her and track the delivery. 

Felicity got so involved in what she was doing, that before she knew it, the boys were tromping back down the stairs. She glanced up, surprised to see them back. They looked none the worse for wear and Roy said nothing, just brushed past them to go change out of his gear.

“Back so soon?” 

“It’s been two hours, Felicity,” Dig pointed out, smiling wryly. 

“Time flies,” she muttered. 

Silence fell and she was aware of Oliver hovering a little by the case where he hung up his bow and Felicity noticed him and Dig exchanging meaningful looks.What was that about?  

“I think I’m going to call it a night,” Dig announced as Roy came out wearing his standard hoodie and jeans. Oliver headed for his own turn to change out of his gear. “I’ll drop you off on my way.”

“Thanks,” Roy replied.He’d been so quiet lately.Felicity wondered what was eating at him but getting him to talk could be a challenge.She wondered if it was lingering effects from the Mirakuru. 

She was still thinking about that after they left, momentarily forgetting that Oliver was still there. When he came out, dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt, he startled her.He looked just as startled to find her there, alone.He glanced towards the stairs and something about the nervous way he held himself made her wonder if Dig had left on purpose. 

Felicity started to finish up what she was doing, so she could escape. She didn’t know if she could handle working in here with all the tension and avoiding that was going on.It made her want to avoid as well and that possibly irritated her more than anything else.  

“Felicity?” Oliver sounded hesitant and he stopped next to her workstation. 

She turned in her chair to find him standing there uncertainly, rubbing his fingers together in that nervous tick of his. “What’s up, Oliver?” she asked. 

He cleared his throat. “I— uh… how are you doing?”

Felicity winced. There was that pang again, followed by another tugging in her chest.“I’m fine, Oliver.Good as new.”

“That’s good.No, uh, complications?” 

He was asking about that plan-b type procedure, she knew. “It went as expected.Made me sick as a dog, of course, but I was told that would happen.”

“I’m sorry,” he told her.She could hear the guilt thick in his voice and for the first time, it made her angry instead of sympathetic.He wasn’t even looking directly at her.Did an apology count if he couldn’t even look her in the eye when he said it? 

Felicity shrugged, tired of this game already. “It is what it is. I’m fine, Oliver. I’m getting over it.”

“Alright,” he replied and it sounded almost like he meant to add something but instead, he wandered away to work on assembling more arrows.Felicity continued to work until the lingering tension made her want to scream out loud.She needed to get out. 

Standing up, she grabbed her purse. “I’m calling it a night. I’ll be back tomorrow,” she told him, not even waiting for a reply before walking out. 

That night, she barely got any sleep.She kept tossing and turning, mulling the situation with Oliver over in her mind.He’d promised her that their friendship wouldn’t be ruined.She remembered that much.But he couldn’t even look at her and she was so annoyed that she was having a hard time keeping up the pretense.Then, unbidden, she recalled the feeling of him filling her body, holding her and kissing down her damp skin. 

_Shit_. 

The next week was much of the same.If anything, the situation got worse.Oliver continued to be nervous and hesitant around her.Felicity began to avoid him, going to great lengths to not be in the foundry when he was.She would run out to grab food for everyone, or go on some other errand.Whenever Dig and Roy weren’t there, Felicity never stuck around.Being in the same room with Oliver was quickly becoming unbearable.The aching in her chest grew with each day, panging whenever he spoke to her and throbbing whenever he was absent. 

Felicity couldn’t continue like this.It was unbearable.There were no leads on Shaw and she was frustrated with that as well.There was so much going on in her life and no satisfaction and she was becoming legitimately concerned that the ache in her chest was stress from the whole situation starting to affect her physically.  

A week after returning to hero work, Felicity came to the Foundry and found Diggle there, cleaning his guns. He looked up when he saw her and smiled. 

“Hey, Felicity.”

“Hi, John.”

There was some quiet as she prepared for a night of work and when she was settled in, she saw Dig watching her.She raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve been looking pretty worn the last week or so.Are you okay?” 

Felicity shrugged.“Just dealing with some stuff.I’ll be fine.”

“I’m worried about you. So is Roy.And Oliver.” 

At the mention of Oliver, she grit her teeth. “I think this case is just getting to me,” she told him. It wasn’t a complete lie. “It’s getting to all of us.”

“It is,” Dig agreed.He was watching her, concerned now. “But maybe you need a break.”

“Maybe…” She thought for a moment.“Maybe I should take a little time, go visit my mom.”

Dig’s eyebrows went up. “Your mom?In Vegas, right?”

Felicity wasn’t surprised at his reaction.She never spoke about her family and her relationship with her mom wasn’t the best.But… Vegas was a long way from Starling and the distance might be just what both she and Oliver need right now.Plus, there was a part of her that wanted her mother.It was a small part, admittedly, but it was there. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been back there to see her.Maybe its time.Maybe it’ll help.”

Dig nodded thoughtfully. “Oliver won’t be too pleased with you leaving. You remember how he acted when you went to Central City.”

Her chest ached again. Felicity made a face.“Yes, I do. But he got over it then, he’ll get over it now. I can keep an eye on tracking Shaw from anywhere, I don’t need to be sitting here every night.”

“You don’t have to convince me, Felicity. I think it’s a great idea for you to get away for a while,” Dig told her. 

Something in the way Dig was looking at her made her think that he knew something. While she couldn’t see Oliver having told him everything that had happened between them… Dig knew something was up.And he seemed, thankfully, to be on her side. 

“Thanks, John.I think I’ll just wrap things up here tonight and go tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.And you know I’ll be in touch.”

Felicity went back to work, feeling reinvigorated now that she had a plan. A few days, a week… of not having to deal with these awkward run-ins with Oliver… sounded perfect.Just what she needed.  

***

Felicity gazed out the airplane window, watching the clouds zipping away beneath the plane as they flew southward towards Las Vegas. Her mother had been surprised but absolutely thrilled when she’d called her with her flight information last night.When she’d booked the plane tickets and packed her bag, Felicity had been almost excited about the prospect of getting out of Starling and away from Oliver for a few days. 

But now, with the miles between them lengthening by the minute, she didn’t feel happy or excited or anything remotely positive.The ache in her chest was only growing and now she was feeling nauseous.Maybe it was the whole flying thing; she’d never been a great flyer.Or maybe some delayed symptoms from… 

Or maybe it was the stress that was gripping her, unwilling to leave without taking a pound of flesh as well. 

All Felicity knew was that she felt awful.Her emotions were in turmoil, her mind was upset and her body felt like she’d been sick and laid up for a month.  

She’d left the foundry before Oliver had shown up the previous night.Dig had promised to relay her plans to him.She wondered how he took the news.Or if he’d even cared.It was entirely possible he was just as relieved as she was.Or as she used to be. 

Now she wasn’t so sure. And she was remembering how strained her relationship with her mother was.There was a darn good reason she’d left Vegas and never looked back and a full-ride scholarship to MIT was only part of it.Felicity and Donna Smoak were as different as they could be. Her mom liked “Real Housewives” television shows, wearing dresses twenty years too young for her and flirting with the high rollers at Caesar’s.Felicity couldn’t care less about all of those things.She wondered how long it would take her mother to ask her about her love life.Ten minutes?Maybe a whole half hour?  

Maybe she could play up how sick she was feeling and avoid the well-meaning lecture?Now, that didn’t sound like such a bad idea. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the voice of the captain sounded throughout the cabin, “we are making our final descent in to Las Vegas so we’ve turned the seatbelt sign back on. We will be arriving at McCarran International Airport at 2pm, local time. The temperature is a steamy 99 degrees and the skies are clear.Enjoy your time in sunny Las Vegas.”

Felicity watched out the window as they circled over the infamous Strip before lining up with the runway at the nearby airport.Some of the older casinos were gone, some new ones had arisen in their place.Same ol’, same ol’ for good old Las Vegas.Didn’t they say, “it’s good to be home”?Somehow, as her stomach cramped unpleasantly, Felicity was having a hard time buying that. 

She joined the crawl of passengers off the plane and then down to the baggage claim.Instead of feeling better to be off the plane, Felicity felt even worse as she walked through the crowded airport.  

“Felicity!” a loud shriek cried out. 

She turned to see an electric purple blur shoot through the crowd towards her.Moments later, her face was full of bleached blonde hair as her mother engulfed her in a hug. She bounced like a terrier, rattling Felicity’s teeth.  

“Hi mom,” she said weakly.  

Donna drew back right away and pressed a hand to Felicity’s forehead.“What’s the matter?Are you sick, baby?”

“I’m not feeling too great, no.”

“Well, here, let me get that bag.C’mon, my car is just outside.”

“Mom, please tell me you didn’t illegally park at the curb…”

Her mom waved her hand dismissively. “They know me here, it’s okay.”

Felicity sighed and followed along after her mother who was already chatting about some piece of gossip she’d gotten from her landlady.Felicity’s headache throbbed as the oppressive Las Vegas heat wrapped around her on the walk to the car.The one upshot was that with her mother chattering constantly, it wouldn’t give her brain too much time to focus on Oliver. 

As Donna unlocked the doors on her little Hyundai sedan and popped the trunk, she shook her head at Felicity and shooed her to sit in the passenger seat.When she got behind the wheel, she turned concerned eyes on her and sighed. “I don’t know what’s up, why you decided to visit now, but it’s clearly something big. You look a wreck, baby.I want you to go right to bed as soon as we get home.”

That was a plan she could get behind. Felicity ended up falling asleep in the car on the short ride there and Oliver haunted her dreams. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity is in Las Vegas, visiting her mother. But are things any better for her than they were when she was still in Starling? And just what is up with illness that she can't seem to shake?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm impressed that so many people enjoyed the angst in the last chapter! You are all my people! Thank you for reading, for reblogging, for leaving kudos, comments and all that good stuff. We are full on into unresolved romantic tension here and things are going to start ramping up the next chapter. I don't think a single person has guessed what's going to happen, which makes me feel a little giddy. 
> 
> I leave little teases on Twitter now and then. If you want to see, check out [my Twitter page](https://twitter.com/callistawolf) and look for the tag "#BurningItDown". 
> 
> I think this chapter will answer some questions for some of you. Read on!

“Felicity, did you hear anything I just said?” her mother asked, exasperated. 

She looked up from the crossword puzzle she’d been pretending to work on to see her mother standing at the end of the sofa she was sprawled on, her hands on her hips. 

“Uhm… no?”Felicity cringed.“Sorry.”

“You’ve been acting like you’re working on that same crossword puzzle for the last four hours, Felicity,” her mom pointed out.She sat at the end of the sofa and placed a gentle hand on Felicity’s ankle.“Honey, you’ve been here a week and while I’m more than happy to have you, you haven’t left this apartment once.You’ve barely talked to me; I still don’t know what’s happened to get you into this state. I think it’s been two days since you’ve had a shower, even.That’s not like you.”

Felicity shifted, wincing a little at the stabbing pain in her chest.The ache hadn’t abated at all since arriving in Vegas like she’d hoped it would. In fact, the pain grew each day. Her headache faded and surged but never went away completely. The knots in her stomach made it hard to even eat.Something was wrong with her and she’d finally accepted that it wasn’t just _stress_. 

She’d been in contact with Dig all week.She lied in her texts to him, assuring him that she was feeling much better now. He kept her updated on the search for Shaw. There’d been a few pings on her searches and the team had pursued each one, but to no avail. Just the other night, they got very close to finally catching the monster unaware. Unfortunately, they’d missed him by just minutes.But Dig seemed encouraged that they were closing in on him. He was definitely holed up somewhere in the Glades and the team constantly on his tail meant he hadn’t taken any new victims. The asshole was running out of room to run and hide and that was only good news for the prospect of catching him.

There was no casual way to ask about Oliver so Felicity just came right out with it when she spoke on the phone with him the day before. 

“How’s Oliver?” she’d asked, biting into her lip.

“He’s been a bear. Loves to pummel Roy and I… well, at least he _tries_ with me. But poor Roy… the boy is covered in bruises. He’s acting like someone’s taken away his favorite toy.”

Felicity winced.She supposed she was the “toy” in this scenario. It annoyed her to no end. She was far more than some plaything that Oliver sulked and pouted over. “Has he mentioned me?”

“He’s asked a few times how you’re doing, wanting to know my opinion,” he told her. “Beyond that, if your name comes up he clams up right away and starts pulling the brooding hero routine.”

That sounded just about right, Felicity mused, pulling a face. 

She shouldn’t have even asked about Oliver. He was already too much on her mind as it was. Every time she fell asleep, she dreamed about him.Sometimes, the dreams were visions from their time together at the sanctuary.Other times, the dreams were completely innocent, some scene of them together watching a movie or going for a ride in a car or eating dinner together.But most often, the dreams were just of _him_.She dreamed of him running along rooftops in his Arrow gear.She dreamed of him talking to Dig and Roy about searching for Shaw.She dreamed of him getting a postcard from Thea, smiling at what she’d had to say.Mundane moments.But it was those that stuck with her the most. They were so vivid, as though she was there with him, watching him. It made her miss him and the ache in her chest grew. 

Then she’d wake up with that pain in her chest and start another day of pretending her life wasn’t completely falling apart. 

“I just asked you if you’re leaving the apartment today,” her mom asked, bringing Felicity’s attention back to her. 

She shrugged a little. “I don’t feel that good, mom. What’s wrong with just staying in?We could find a movie to watch on Netflix.”

Her mother pressed her lips into a line. “That’s what we’ve done since you got here. I’m getting concerned, honey.”

“I’m fine.”

“Stop saying that you’re fine.You’re _not_ fine.”Her mother scrutinized her for a moment, making Felicity feel like she was fourteen again. “I want you to go out tonight.”

“What?Where?” Felicity’s stomach twisted at the thought. 

“On a date.”

Felicity sat up quickly, tossing the crossword puzzle aside. “What?! A date? Are you kidding? I don’t even know anyone here.”

“I know, but I do. Kendra has a nephew and I’ve met him, he’s a very nice man. He works for a tech company here in town and is apparently quite successful.”

“Wait… Kendra?Isn’t that your landlady?”

“Yes.Now, Felicity, his name is Josh.I want you to give it a try.Just go out to dinner.It’ll do you good to get out of the house.”

Felicity’s stomach twisted again. “Wait, did you already set this date up?”

Donna at least had the decency to look embarrassed as she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap.“Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I talked to Kendra this morning and… oh, Felicity.Please?For me?”

Felicity wanted to bang her head against something but with the headache she had, she wasn’t so sure it wouldn’t cause her head to split open. Then again, maybe that’d be an improvement. 

“When will he be here?” she asked. 

“At 6 o’clock.He’s going to take you to that nice new place inside the Bellagio.You heard me tell you about it, right?It’s all the rage right now.”

That gave her two hours.Two hours to get a shower, get dressed and find some semblance of normal.That seemed like a tall order, but Felicity had leaped taller buildings before.And from the hopeful look on her mother’s face, she knew this meant a lot to her. And it was just a night out of the apartment, nothing big.Surely she could go eat dinner with some guy if it meant getting her mother off her back, right? 

“Okay, fine,” Felicity relented. 

Donna squealed and jumped to her feet, pulling Felicity up with her.“Yay!Now, do you have anything nice to wear?Did you pack any dresses?”

She hadn’t, not expecting to do much more than just mope on the sofa like she’d been doing, so her mom dragged her into her closet to pick out a dress. Felicity easily nixed the first five suggestions, all of which were too short, too tight and _way_ too revealing.She liked to flaunt her assets, sure, but she didn’t even know this guy.The last thing she wanted to do was send the wrong message. 

In the end, she picked a black dress and a silver belt and heels to go with it.It was high necked, but sleeveless with an exposed keyhole back.The fabric was super clingy, as was everything else her mother owned, but nearly went to her knees so Felicity considered that a reasonable trade-off. 

The shower felt good, she had to admit that much.And with the dress on and her makeup done, Felicity felt as close to normal as she had all week long. She was almost getting used to that pain in her chest now and the headache was just a matter of course. 

There was a knock at the door at 6 o’clock on the dot and Donna squealed a little before answering.Felicity fought not to roll her eyes.Josh Connor ended up being an attractive and pleasant man. With her heels on, he was about an inch or two taller than her. He had dark wavy hair and kind, green eyes. 

Felicity shook his hand when her mother introduced them.There was an unpleasant zap that traveled up her arm when their hands touched but Felicity wrote it off as latent static electricity. 

Josh drove them over the Bellagio, telling her a little bit about himself on the way.He’d worked in Los Angeles for a few years before coming to Vegas to be nearer to his family and start his own consulting business.He did a lot of networking for the hotels and casinos and that kept him pretty busy.She appreciated his apparent love of computers and how he seemed interested to hear in her own career.She wished she had more to tell him; IT at Queen Consolidated wasn’t nearly as impressive as owning a successful consulting business.But Felicity knew her worth and knew she was capable of greater things.Her career had been sidetracked in the last year but that was all going to change.  

“So you were… an executive assistant this last year?” Josh asked.His tone was curious but her hackles went up anyhow.It didn’t sound any better to her ears when he said it out loud than when she heard it in her own head. 

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” she said, her cheeks burning. 

“No, no!Its fine. I know that’s a pretty prestigious position in companies like that.I know QC had a hard year and it can’t have been an easy job.”

Especially considering she’d done most of the day-to-day running of the company… “It had it’s moments.”

“What are you doing now?” He pulled up at valet and they got out and Felicity stood by while he passed off his keys to the attendant. 

“I took a bit of a break from work, but I’ll be looking for a new position when I get back home.”She really hated this conversation and how it picked at every insecurity she had about her career right now. 

“Oh?You’re headed back to Starling? Donna didn’t mention that…”He ushered her into the casino, which was the usual racket of slot machines and flashing lights.  

“Well, I do still live there.I have a life there.”

“You could look for a job down here. I’m sure there’s plenty of companies that would love to have you on staff.Myself included.”

Was he… offering her a job? This was a weird date.He seemed like a nice guy but… there was something off. Felicity simply refused to believe that _something_ was certain feelings for a certain vigilante hero.  

They located the restaurant inside the casino and were seated by snotty looking  maitre d' near some windows that overlooked the glittering lights of the Strip.Luckily, the conversation switched to more neutral topics and current events and she was able to relax and enjoy herself as they sipped the wine Josh ordered.The food was delicious and sure beat the takeout her mother had been bringing home all week.Maybe this whole date thing was a good idea after all. 

Everything went great until Josh drove her back to her mother’s apartment.They’d exchanged contact information and Felicity had made vague promises to call him if she was ever in town again.Then, parked in front of her mother’s building, he leaned across the console in his car to kiss her.As soon as his lips touched hers, the pain in Felicity’s chest roared to life, causing her to jerk away, yelping in pain.Josh looked startled. Felicity would have felt bad but the pain in her chest was like smoldering pokers stabbing through her ribcage.The pain in her head splintered, shooting behind her eyes. 

“Felicity!Are you okay?” Josh cried, startled as she doubled over. 

“I—I’m fine,” she gasped.She panted a little and then swallowed back a moan of agony. “I’m sorry. I just— ah… I need to get inside.”

Josh, ever a gentleman, wanted to help her in.He rounded the car and opened her door for her but the instant he reached for her hand, the pain knifed through her again.She yanked her hand away.“No!Don’t— I can do it.Just… hold the door?”

Poor Josh looked at a loss as he watched her struggle out of the car, clutching her chest.He followed after her as she stumbled up the walk to her mother’s door and he knocked on the door for her.Her mother opened a moment later and looked aghast to see Felicity in the state she was in. 

“What happened?” she demanded, looking at Josh almost accusingly. 

He raised his hands. “Nothing! I went to… I touched her and she…” He gestured helplessly at her and her mother reached for her, wrapping an arm around Felicity’s hunched shoulders and ushering her inside.For some reason, her mother’s touch was soothing where Josh’s had felt like torture. 

Her mother lead her to the sofa and instructed her to lay down while she said goodbye to Josh.Felicity wanted to feel bad for the way their date ended but she hurt so _much_ … 

A moment later, her mother returned, a glass of water in hand, and sat on the chair next to the head of the couch.She leaned forward, setting the glass of water on the coffee table in front of Felicity.  

“Now.Are you finally going to tell me what’s been going on?”

“What do you mean?” Felicity said, hoping to evade what she could already see what inevitable. 

“Felicity.Don’t play dumb with me, you’re far too smart for that.”Her mother fixed her with her infamous ‘no-nonsense’ look. “I know you’re an Omega, baby.And I know that what’s going on with you right now has something to do with that.”

***

It actually felt good to unload on her mother, once she got going, about everything that had been happening.Felicity started with not taking her suppressants and, instead of telling her about how busy she’d been with the team hunting down Shaw, fudged a bit by saying she was busy with hunting for a new job. Felicity explained how she’d never had a heat before, that she didn’t know the symptoms, how it wasn’t something she’d ever paid any attention.Then, taking a deep breath, she explained how Oliver realized she was an Omega.  

Her mom had interrupted then, incredulous that Felicity knew Oliver Queen.She made up an easy story about how she was working with him on a computer consulting project, how he’d come to appreciate her computer abilities during the time she’d served as his executive assistant.Which had necessitated an explanation about how she’d been promoted to be his EA in the first place and then a tongue-lashing from her mother for not telling her sooner.There was a good _reason_ she hadn’t told her mother sooner, which Felicity was experiencing right now as her mother gushed and asked her questions about what he was like, if his eyes were _that blue_ in person and if it was true that he smelled like salted caramel like the tabloids said. 

Felicity finally got her mother back on track when Donna realized that what Felicity was saying was that she encountered Oliver Queen, a known Alpha, while she was going into heat.After that, her mother went quiet and let Felicity tell it. Of course, she gave her mother the sanitized version, only mentioning that he brought her to the sanctuary, that it was too late for her to suppress the heat and that Oliver offered to stay with her.Thankfully, her mother finally recognized when to keep her mouth shut.She just held Felicity’s hand as she told her how Oliver had distanced himself when her heat had passed. Felicity found herself getting a little choked up as she recounted how strained things had been between the two of them since then, stressing how they had been such good _friends_ before. 

“So wait,” her mother said when Felicity had finally finished her tale, “all this happened and so you came here and you’ve been feeling sick the whole time you’re here?Felicity… are you pregnant?”

Her mouth fell open.“What?Mom, no!Of course not!I… the sanctuary had a procedure…” Again, she felt heat suffusing her cheeks and Felicity twisted her hands in her lap. 

Her mom reach out and cupped her shoulder, stroking with her thumb.“Baby, it’s okay.I’m not going to judge you for that choice.I had to do that once too, when I was very young. Unpleasant stuff.Say no more. So, okay, if that’s not it, then what is the problem?”

“I don’t know,” Felicity admitted, frustration making tears prick at her eyes. “I have a headache and my stomach is in knots and there’s this ache in my chest that felt like I was being stabbed when poor Josh tried to kiss me—“

“Wait… he tried to kiss you?” her mom asked. 

“Mom, focus!”

“Sorry, baby.Tell me about the pain, when did it first show up?”

“Before I came down here. I thought it was stress.Over the whole situation with Oliver and then there was work stress… I thought getting away would make me feel better but on the flight down here I started feeling worse and worse.And you’ve seen me since I’ve been here.”

“You’ve been a wreck.”

“It’s not going away, it’s getting worse, and when I was with Josh it was like… agony,” Felicity admitted. 

Her mother watched her with a strange look on her face.She tapped her chin with a brightly painted nail, like she always did when she was deep in thought. 

“What?Do you know what it is?”

“It reminds me of something my grandmother once told me,” her mom said.“When I was a little girl, I was very flighty. I wasn’t at all serious like you were… or are now.My mom used to grumble that I was too dreamy. But I loved to dream and I loved to hear all the soulmate stories you’d see in books.”

Felicity remembered a few of those stories… her mother had tried to share them with her when she’d been much younger but they had never interested Felicity.She’d always rather fiddle with computers than read love stories. 

“Anyhow, you know I’m a Beta, right?” her mother continued.“I’ve told you that your father was an Alpha.My mother was a Beta, actually, and father was an Alpha, but my grandparents were an Alpha/Omega pair. Anyhow, I was staying with my grandma once and she saw me reading the stories and she told me, I’ll never forget this, ‘those stories are real’.I was only nine years old but I thought for sure she was pulling my leg.But then she told me about how she and grandpa were soulmates, how they’d found each other, how that bond affected them and their relationship.”Her mom shrugged, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I’d always admired their relationship but I never _knew,_ you know?And hearing her talk about it, I believed her.I still do.”

“So what does this have to do with me?” Felicity asked. 

“When I asked her how she knew grandpa was her soulmate, she told me that after her first heat, she’d had these strange feelings. And how those feelings drew her closer to my grandfather.He had the feelings as well and once they soul bonded, those feelings solidified.That all the stories were _true_ , how soulmates could sense each other’s emotions and how they were drawn together… But until that bond was forged, she was in agony and the ability to sense was only half-formed.”

“Wait.So you’re saying that you think I… that Oliver is…” Felicity trailed off, trying to wrap her mind around what her mother was saying and falling horribly short.  

“Honey…”

“Soulmates?Seriously??” Felicity cried. 

“Felicity, what you’re describing, the pain in your chest, that is exactly what my grandmother described.Plus, the stories I read all said that those feelings would sharpen if another man were to touch you before your bond was fully formed.It makes _sense_ , Felicity.”

She would argue that.Felicity didn’t think it made _any_ sense.Those soulmate tales were all fairy tales, something told to fanciful children before they grew up and learned about the reality of the world around them.It was ludicrous!And yet… 

“I just… Mom, even _if_ it’s true… he doesn’t want me.He couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

“Baby, he was probably _scared_.Just because he’s an Alpha doesn’t mean he has all the answers. And you’re forgetting one important detail; if you’re feeling this unformed bond then so is he.”

Felicity chewed her lip. She hadn’t considered that. “Do you have a laptop?” she asked her mother.“I didn’t bring mine. I’d like to look some things up online.”

“Sure, honey. I have that one you bought me for Hanukkah three years ago.Let me go get it.” 

The laptop was old and filled with all manner of cringe-inducing spyware.Felicity couldn’t do a thing with it until she’d set it back to rights again.It hurt her soul.Then she lectured her mother about downloading files from untrustworthy sources.When her mom shrugged and Felicity knew that she’d probably not understood a word she’d said, she just huffed a sigh and got down to business.First things first: Googling ‘soulmates’. 

She sipped the water her mother had brought her as she read through pages and pages of information.Some of it was just more fairy tales, but Felicity was actually able to find an academic paper or two.There was serious speculation that this was an actual phenomenon but that most soulmates had drifted so far from one another that they never met.Something about the thought of that made the ache in her chest sharper.  

Suddenly, she missed the sight of Oliver’s face.Especially his smile when she’d say something silly or when talking about his sister.Felicity swallowed down the emotion that rose in her throat and kept researching.She ended up staying awake half the night but sometime around 2:30 in the morning, she sat back and let all the information coalesce in her mind. 

It sounded like what she was experiencing was exactly what her mother had said it was: an incomplete soul bond with Oliver that had begun to form during her heat but was not completed.If so, then being apart from him would only make the pain she felt worse and those symptoms would continue to worsen the longer she stayed away from him.There was also good reason to believe that he was feeling similar symptoms.  

It was a lot to take in. 

A soul bond sounded like major commitment.It was a biological bond between two people that lasted as long as they lived. And here she’d thought _marriage_ was a huge step.This put that to shame.The kicker was: there wasn’t really anything she could do about it.But then, it wasn’t as though she wasn’t completely and irrevocably in love with Oliver Queen anyhow.She had been falling for him since she first met him.Looking back, that might have been the soulmates thing… her soul recognizing his, yearning for that connection.When she thought about it like that, it felt like that made all of this so inevitable. 

Still, Felicity was having a hard time processing all of this… the realization that Oliver was possibly her _soulmate_.That he was the only man, Alpha or not, that would _ever_ ease her aching.What on earth was she going to _do_?

***

Felicity instructed her cab driver to take her directly to Verdant rather than to her apartment.She wanted to see if Oliver was there more than she wanted to unpack her suitcase or change out of her travel clothes.As she’d flown from Vegas to Starling, her ache had eased a little. Whether it was the nearing proximity to Oliver or just the knowledge that she was going back with the intention of seeing him, talking to him, and possibly working through this. 

Not that there was any “working through” to be done.You couldn’t just _interrupt_ a soul bond once it was initiated, from what she’d read.But Felicity was trying very hard not to focus on that whole aspect.She was starting with small goals, such as seeing Oliver and possibly even speaking to him. 

The cab pulled up out in front of Verdant just after noon. It was a Saturday, so there was a good chance the team was gathered there. With her rollaway suitcase in hand, Felicity made her way through the closed-down club and to the entrance down to the basement.The code was still the same, as she would have expected it would be. She was the only one who ever changed it, after all.  

She did find some of the team in the basement, but, unfortunately, not Oliver.Dig and Roy were there though, going over some schematics.  

“Whatcha got there?” Felicity asked as she strolled over. 

Both men looked up and a grin blossomed across Roy’s face.“You’re back!”

“Yep!You couldn’t keep me away from you goons,” she said fondly, giving them both a hug in turn. 

“These are the plans for one of the buildings we think Shaw is holed up in.Your latest scan result from today shows him concentrating on this area of the Glades quite a bit. It’s a few blocks over from here. The building is one of the many damaged in the quake but it’s still standing.It’s been empty for over a year though,” Dig explained. 

Felicity peered.“It does seem like the sort of place he might favor,” she mused.  

“We’re thinking he’s gonna make a move soon… it’s been over two weeks since he kidnapped Janie. He’s never gone this long before. He’s gotta be getting antsy,” Roy added. 

She nodded.“That makes sense.What does Oliver think?”

“He’s pretty stressed about it.He wants us to keep an extra close eye on him.”

“Any plans to move on it tonight?” 

“I think so.”

“Where is he?” she asked, hoping she sounded casual.Dig gave her a grin, telling her that she didn’t. 

“He’s out at lunch.Said he’d be by later on.”

Roy had some job lead he wanted to chase down so he gave her another hug before heading out, leaving her and Diggle alone.It wasn’t that Felicity didn’t feel she could talk with Roy, but she wasn’t sure about personal stuff like this.Plus, she had a feeling Dig knew some of what was going on with her and Oliver. He’d been watching her with a knowing look ever since she first arrived.

“How’s he been?” she asked when they were alone. 

“About the same as the last time you asked me that two days ago,” Dig said with a smirk. 

Felicity swatted his arm playfully. “Come on. Be straight with me.”

Dig shrugged. “He’s like an ornery bear. He seems testy all the time and out of sorts. I asked him the other day if he was coming down with the flu and he about bit my head off.”

“So he seemed like he wasn’t feeling well?” 

“As much as he ever does. I was sorry I asked.”

That was encouraging.Not that she particularly liked the idea of Oliver in pain, but if he was feeling as poorly as she’d been feeling, that had to mean something, right?  

“How about you?How are _you_ doing?You look a bit better than you did last week, but you still look like you could use about a days worth of sleep.”

“I probably could,” she replied with a humorless chuckle. “I do feel a little better. It feels better to be back here, let’s put it that way.”

“Listen, I don’t want to get in the middle of all this. It’s not my business. But I want you to know that I’m here if you need to talk.And that if he hurts you, I will personally mop the floor with him.”

Felicity grinned.“Oh John.You’re the best, you know that?”

“That’s what Lyla keeps telling me.”He beamed at her. 

“Speaking of, how’s she doing?Last time I saw her, she was just starting to show but she’s gotta be popped by now, right?”

“She’s definitely popped but she’ll lop your head off if you mention it.And the cravings have hit hard… just the other day she requested a crunchy taco from her favorite place.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Felicity said. 

“It was two in the morning!Good thing their drive thru is open all night or I don’t know what I would have done.”

“You’re a prince among men, John Diggle.Lyla is lucky to have you.”

“You and her seem to agree on that,” he said, grinning. It was great to see him so happy. Then, he patted her arm. “Why don’t you go on home, get a nap, settle in and we’ll meet back here around dinner?”

Felicity stifled a yawn. “Yeah, I could use a little rest.Why don’t I bring in some dinner for everyone when I come in?”

“You don’t have to do that…”

“I want to.Big Belly Burger, just like old times?”

“Sounds great.”

Felicity called another cab and walked out of the foundry, feeling lighter than she had in far too long. Her pain had eased some and she had something to look towards. She _always_ felt better when she could be proactive rather than just sitting idly by. She’d wasted far too much time lounging on her mother’s sofa down in Vegas. Hopefully, later that night she’d get a chance to talk to Oliver and maybe she could find out just what was going on with him and see if he was in fact on the same page as her after all. 

Either way, Felicity was done letting this nonsense dictate her life for her. If Oliver was feeling what she was feeling, he was probably just as keen to resolve it as she was. And if not, then they could talk things out and find a way to move on. Perhaps even be friends again, someday. Felicity had a preference, of course, but even more than that, she was practical. And keeping their team together and working efficiently was the top priority. She couldn’t ever lose sight of that.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn for the worse, and then for the even more horrifying...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said yesterday that no one had guessed what was coming? You all proceeded to prove me wrong and TOTALLY GUESSED WHAT WAS COMING. Way to ruin my fun, guys (though I will admit, I didn't exactly try to hide it). ;)
> 
> I added some warnings to this chapter. Heed them, _please_. 
> 
> Stick with me guys!

It turned out, Felicity was even more exhausted than she’d thought she was.No sooner had she toed off her shoes and set her suitcase aside than she’d thrown herself on her bed and fallen fast asleep. For the first time all week, her sleep wasn’t plagued by dreams of Oliver. Nothing but blissful nothingness filled her as she finally got the rest she so badly needed. 

Felicity woke up several hours later, as the sun was already marching towards the horizon, surprised at how long she’d napped but also feeling much more rested. While she felt a little guilty for taking so much time, she knew Dig had been right to shoo her back home.Now, she could focus on the mission and on helping out her team. For the first time in so long, Felicity felt like maybe she could get back to life the way it’d been before. 

She took a quick shower and put on a nice sundress before heading out the door. With her hair in a ponytail and her glasses on her face, she felt refreshed and ready to kick some virtual butt. 

Felicity took her Mini to Big Belly Burger, already running through what to order in her mind as she parked in the small lot next to the shop.She and Oliver always favored the Belly Buster Burgers but she knew Dig loved the Pork Belly Burger.Roy, she wasn’t as sure of, but she thought she recalled him liking the Belly Most Foul Burger.She only remembered because Oliver had teased him about how chicken wasn’t _actually_ a burger and Roy had countered that it certainly was because the chicken was fried.That had made _everyone_ laugh, including Oliver. 

Felicity was still chuckling over the memory as she pushed into the shop.It was fairly busy inside, considering it was the dinner hour and her eyes scanned over the occupants as she waited in line to place her order.Her gaze landed on a booth near the window, the booth she, Dig and Oliver used to always sit in back when they were first getting started with the team. The booth wasn’t empty. In fact, Oliver himself was sitting at that very booth. Felicity blinked, unsure she was actually seeing what she was seeing. He wasn’t alone.Unless she was mistaken and she didn’t think she was, it looked like he was sharing a dinner date with his former flame, McKenna Hall. 

Wait, Felicity thought she’d heard that McKenna moved to Coast City.Hadn’t she? What was she doing in Starling?

Felicity was stunned at the sight.Her mouth dried up and the knot in her stomach grew tenfold as she watched McKenna reach across the table to touch Oliver’s hand.He was on a _date_.What’s worse, he was on a date with an ex-girlfriend.After everything Diggle had told her, she’d thought Oliver had spent this last week alone and perhaps even as fixated on her as she was on him. What a fanciful fool she’d been. Now, she realized that if he could stomach McKenna touching him like that… and yes, he was smiling at her now… perhaps she had it all wrong after all. 

Perhaps there _was_ no soul bond, no soulmates, that all of it really was just the stuff of fairytales. That she could have been so wrong made her feel like the biggest idiot on the planet. Felicity felt mortified down to her bones. To think, she’d nearly said something about all this to him! If she hadn’t seen him like this, enjoying a meal with McKenna, she would have actually asked him about how he was feeling and if he had chest pains. He would have looked at her, probably with pity. Felicity couldn’t even bear the thought. 

“Miss?Miss!” 

The loud voice finally got through to her and Felicity whirled around to see she was at the front of the line and the girl behind the counter was waiting to take her order.She’d had to call so loudly that half the restaurant had stopped what they were doing to look over at her.Everyone… including Oliver and McKenna.Felicity’s eyes met Oliver’s for one breathless, heartbreaking moment.  

He looked stunned to see her there, his eyes wide. McKenna just looked curious. Felicity doubted the former SCPD detective even remembered her. After all, she’d been all but invisible back then.

And Felicity felt like now would be an absolutely fantastic time for the earth to open up and swallow her whole. 

“Did you want to place an order?” the girl asked, looking a little confused. 

Felicity didn’t know what to do for one wild moment.Did she continue on, as if this was no big deal?Suddenly, the notion of burgers was grotesque. Oliver looked like he was getting ready to get up and come over to her. She couldn’t bear the thought of it.  

“Uhm, no.I’m sorry.I’ve changed my mind,” Felicity hurriedly said to the poor girl before turning and rushing out of the restaurant, the bell on the door jingling merrily as she slammed out.  

She knew she’d heard Oliver call her name before the door swung shut after her.She didn’t stop or turn around or anything like that.Instead, Felicity hurried for her car and let herself behind the wheel.Her hands shook on the steering wheel as she started the ignition.She had to get out of there, before he came out to talk to her or something equally mortifying. 

She had to go home.  

***

Felicity’s heart was pounding as she pulled into her parking spot at her apartment.Her hands were still shaking as she locked up her Mini and hurried to her apartment.She wanted an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s, a binge watch of Battlestar Galactica and her fluffiest, fuzziest, rattiest pajama pants.And perhaps an entire bottle of Chianti.To start. 

Diggle would be wondering why she didn’t return. After she got her ice cream, she’d have to send him a text.She could just tell him that she slept longer than she thought.But then she realized that Oliver might tell Diggle he’d seen her at Big Belly Burger. However, if he also told Diggle that he’d been having dinner there with McKenna Hall, Diggle would probably figure out why Felicity would have left and then not come in to the foundry. 

She had a moment of guilt when she considered that her ditching out might interfere with the team’s plans to round up Shaw that night.Then again, it sounded like Dig had already had a good plan in place when she’d left the foundry earlier.Maybe they’d be fine without her on the comms.  

Felicity couldn’t think about it. Not right then.

She had a date with Ben and Jerry and she wasn’t going to miss it. She had sorrows to drown, tv shows to binge, calories to consume. When was the last time she’d had a night to herself like this anyhow? No, sulking on her mother’s couch didn’t count. Not when her mother insisted on chattering her ear off the whole time.And yes, Felicity realized how ironic that was, considering how she often tended to run her mouth.Maybe that just meant she came by that particular trait honestly. 

It took her a couple tries to get her key into the lock on her door.Her hands were trembling still and her eyes were beginning to blur with tears.She was so goddamn sick of crying over this man. If she could find a switch inside of her to turn off the love she suffered over him, she would do so in a heartbeat. Maybe wine before the Ben and Jerry’s would help her dull the ache. Wine made everything better.

Felicity finally got the door open and dumped her purse on the table next to the door, and flicked on the living room light.She walked into the kitchen, heading for the cabinet where she kept her wine glasses.She was just reaching up on her tip toes for her favorite glass when an arm grabbed her around the waist, yanking her sharply backwards. 

She shrieked, her hands flailing and the wine glass flew out of her hands and shattered against the countertop.A hand, rough and calloused, covered her mouth, stifling her cries. 

Felicity struggled, trying to fight back her panic and fear to recall each and every self-defense session she’d had with Diggle and Sara.As a result, she got one good shot in, jamming an elbow back into her attacker’s sternum and she heard a solid grunt when she connected with flesh and muscle.But then she was slammed back into a wall, the picture mounted there crashing to the floor and her head slamming into the drywall hard enough that she saw stars.  

The pain didn’t slow her down, it only made her struggle more, kicking and flailing wildly.Her heel connected with a knee and he stumbled with her still in his grasp.Yes, her attacker was definitely a man.Tall, slight build… with a sickening realization, Felicity had a pretty good idea who this was.Which only solidified her resolve _not to get taken_. 

But, unfortunately for her, her attacker was used to this particular song and dance and the next time he slammed her to the ground, her head contacted with the hardwood floor hard enough that, this time, Felicity’s vision went dark.  

***

Her head wasn’t just throbbing, it was _shattering_ with pain. Felicity blinked her eyes open but nothing came into focus. She felt a heady disconnectedness from her surroundings, as though she wasn’t back from wherever she’d just been. Had she been dreaming? It’d been pleasant, warm and satisfying there. Maybe Oliver had been there with her…

Oliver!The heartache from earlier that day came rushing back and her head responded in kind.She moaned, then realized she could hear the moan echoing through the room. There was something unfamiliar about the way her voice sounded, rebounding off the walls. Where _was_ she? 

She blinked, trying to focus her eyes but was unable. She wasn’t wearing her glasses.Felicity tried to lift an arm to grab for her glasses from the bedside table but she was unable to do more than shift. She fought through the foggy exhaustion that still threatened to swamp her, trying to figure out why she couldn’t see, why she couldn’t _move_.  

Licking her dry lips, Felicity tried to call out but all that came out was a hoarse, cracked sound.That echoed strangely too.Concern cut through the fog and she focused on the clarity. She wasn’t in her room. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t move. Something had happened with Oliver. Then what?

She remembered feeling her heart breaking, her hands trembling on the wheel of her car as she drove home. It was dark outside as she let herself into her apartment. She was going to eat ice cream.Wine.She was reaching for a wine glass.She was so _devastated_.She just wanted some oblivion.  

Then, oblivion came.With her heart rising into her throat, Felicity recalled how she’d been grabbed. How she’d struggled. The sick realization that she’d been grabbed by _Duncan Shaw_. Her head had knocked against the wall, the floor.She’d blacked out. 

Panic clawed at her and for a wild moment Felicity wished she was still blacked out.She couldn’t see because she’d lost her glasses. They’d fallen off back at her apartment. She couldn’t move because she was tied with a thick cord.She was laying on a bed but as she wriggled against her bonds, she realized it wasn’t a threadbare mattress or a rusty cot like he’d had back at that loft down by the docks.The bed was nice and soft.She shifted again and realized her head was on a pillow.Her hands and ankles were bound, tied to the bed, keeping her immobile. Felicity blinked her eyes and strained to get a look at the room around her. 

This wasn’t some hole in a wall. This looked like a modest but nicely appointed motel room.In fact… if she squinted hard, she could see a door on the far right side of the room and it looked like there was one of those fire escape maps affixed to it. 

She pulled on her bonds, testing how secure they were.There was very little range of motion and her shoulders ached from the prolonged unnatural position. There was no way she could free herself like this. Maybe if she had some of Oliver’s skills, but she had no idea how to dislocate shoulders or thumbs or anything like that. 

Things didn’t look good for her. There was nothing she could do to free herself. There was no way to even alert anyone where she was or what had happened to her.Would the team notice she was taken right away? Or would it take a day? Or more? Dig had been expecting her to come to the foundry, but if he saw Oliver and found out she’d been at Big Belly, he might assume (correctly) that she had gone back home. Her best hope was that he might want to check on her.  

But then what? They might see a sign of a struggle in her apartment, but what other clues were there?She knew from tracking Shaw that he left very few traces behind.It’s why they’d had such a hard time finding him.The man was a ghost, disappearing from sight and only popping up when he wanted something.And that night, he’d wanted her. 

What had made him target _her_? The team had suspected he was operating in the Glades; had he seen her at Big Belly and followed her home?This made her wonder if the team would even realize it was Shaw who had taken her.  

Felicity hoped against all possible hope that they did.Because she didn’t have days to wait for a rescue.With the last month or two of her life having been consumed with this psychopath, she knew with horrifyingly explicit detail exactly how he operated.She knew what sort of timeline she was on and what fate awaited her if no help came.

Her time was running out. 

***

Felicity figured she must have been awake and with it for nearly an hour before Duncan Shaw entered the room.He came through another door, not the door to the room, so there must be adjoining rooms.She couldn’t tell very well with only being able to stare at the blurred ceiling and a small section of the room. He came into her line of sight and she fought a shudder of revulsion. 

He was tall and slender, wearing a sweater and corduroy pants. His brown hair was shaggy in that way that said the shagginess was on purpose and not just because he’d missed a few haircuts. He wore dark rimmed glasses and they made his eyes look extra beady and small.Felicity thought he looked like a rat. 

She said nothing, just kept her eyes on him as he stood over her, looking his fill.Her stomach turned. 

“Aren’t you going to ask me?” he said, his voice mild and curious. 

“What?” 

“How I selected to you. How I picked you out of the thousands of beautiful women in this city to be my next. To be my most glorious tribute yet.”

Felicity fought a shiver. “I have no idea how a psychopath like you thinks. I don’t want to know.”

He laughed at that, showing yellowed, crooked teeth.“You’re cute. I might have picked you anyhow, if I’d seen you cross my path.”

Felicity just stared at him, putting as much of her anger into her glare as she possibly could. 

“So, you’re not going to ask?Pity. I’ll have to tell you because it’s just too delicious not to tell.”

She stayed silent. 

“I knew I was being tracked before, but I didn’t know by whom. Blame it on being an out-of-towner, I suppose. I don’t pay attention to local news and gossip. So when your little friends busted up my last party down by the docks, I was surprised to find I was in fact being tracked by actual vigilante heroes!It was quite a thrill, believe me.

“I had to go into hiding after that since your little group is quite determined. I have a special place, just outside the city and from there, I learned all about the Arrow. I learned about how _you_ , Felicity Smoak, have been involved in some of his higher profile exploits in the last two years, most recently that nastiness with a man named Slade Wilson. So I followed that particular trail. I learned about what you do, and where you’ve done it. I found out how skilled in computers and hacking you were… a valuable asset to a vigilante operation, I imagine. So, I kept an eye on your apartment. I had to wait a long time for you to show up.Tell me, where were you all week?”

“None of your business,” she spat. 

Duncan Shaw shrugged. “I didn’t mind waiting. I wanted so badly for you to be my next, that the wait was worth it. I saw you arrive home and then I saw you leave again. I thought for a moment you might lead me to wherever the Arrow calls home sweet home, but no.That was disappointing. But I can’t let myself get too greedy and so I followed you back to your home. And that is where I took you.You remember that, don’t you?”

“I remember elbowing you in the sternum,” she growled. 

“Yes, and kicking me in the knee.Not very nice,” he tsked.“But I like a show of force from my tributes.There’s no honor in subduing a docile Omega. And so many of them are so docile when threatened.I was so glad to see your fire. It told me I’d chosen wisely.”

The way his eyes glinted as he spoke made shivers crawl up her back.Felicity swallowed hard and thought about Oliver.All her hopes and any belief she might have had in the soul bond stories her mother had told her had dried up like leaves in the fall when she’d seen Oliver with McKenna.But… she couldn’t help clinging to the last little kernel of hope she had.If there was a bond between them, even if it wasn’t fully formed, maybe she could try to get through to him somehow.Even if it was just her panicky desperation.Maybe he could sense her. It was literally her only shot.

“How do you know I’m an Omega?” Felicity asked. She’d gotten suppressants back, she shouldn’t have any scent or pheromones. Plus, her background check on Shaw had revealed he was a Beta; he wouldn’t be able to sense her status anyhow. “I thought you only targeted Omega women?”

He grinned that creepy smile of his. “I do. And imagine how delighted I was when I discovered that you are an Omega! There were papers in your garbage last week from an Omega shelter here in Starling.Now, I’m sure I’m not as talented as you, but I know my way around a computer and it was easy enough for me to find your name on a prescription list.”

Felicity’s eyes flashed to his and he chuckled again. “That’s how I find Omegas, of course. I can’t sense them myself, you know.”

“You won’t get away with this.The Arrow will be looking for you.He’ll find you and then you’ll regret ever laying a finger on me or any other Omega.”

“Oh, I almost hope he does. Wouldn’t that be something?I’m not really worried about him stopping me, after all, he’s failed to do so many times, right? I was interrupted last time, but I feel like I got some _satisfaction_ out of the whole thing…”Shaw stepped closer to her and reached down, brushing a finger down her cheek.Her head threatened to crack open with the pain that sliced through her and she couldn’t help it; she cried out in agony. 

“That’s an interesting reaction,” he murmured.“No, I don’t think anything can make me regret what I’ve done… what I’m about to do… to you.”

Felicity felt like throwing up and she retched a little, but her stomach was empty.The pain was fierce and she used that stab of sensation to focus on Oliver, hoping that he could sense it, that he could feel even just a ghost of her in his mind.Maybe, just maybe, he’d realize it was her.She was rapidly running out of time here. 

“Please,” she said, not knowing what she was asking for. This monster had no mercy, no judgement, no empathy.  

Shaw tsked again.“None of that.The time for what _you_ please is at an end.What I please is what matters here.Now, I’m going to go wash up because I like a fresh start before I begin.”

He turned to walk back to the other room but stopped and returned to her, pulling something from his pocket.It was a dark scarf and he dangled it from two fingers in front of her field of vision.“Before I forget…” Shaw knelt on the bed next to her and lifted her head, with one hand and used the other to wrap the scarf through her lips and around the back of her head.He grinned as he tied it, _tight_ , at the back of her head. Then he let her head fall back to the pillow. “Can’t have you calling out for help, can I?That would ruin all my fun.”

He smirked at the glare she sent his way. “I’d say ‘don’t go anywhere’, but I don’t think you have much choice in that, do you?”

Shaw chuckled as he walked away and she craned her neck as much as she could.He walked through the door adjoining their rooms but left it open. 

She didn’t have much time. A shower could be over in minutes and then he’d be back in here.She knew enough from studying his cases to know what came next.She’d heard what this monster had done to Janie before the team had arrived.That was the fate that awaited her if she didn’t get out of here, _now_. 

So she focused her mind squarely on Oliver. She pictured him in the room with her, all the times they’d locked eyes and carried out conversations without saying a word, sometimes driving Dig mad with it. She imagined what he looked like, how his hand felt in hers, how his eyes locked with hers. Felicity also let her mind do something she’d spent the better part of the last two weeks avoiding: she thought about their time together at the sanctuary.She focused, not just on the sex, but on the connection she’d felt. How his hands had held her, how his lips had felt cradling hers, how his breath had warmed her neck as they’d slept curled up together. 

With her hands and feet bound, her agency stripped from her so totally, she used the one thing she had left; her mind.She called out to Oliver, over and over and over again until even her brain was sobbing.She was _so scared_. The terror was a real thing, sharper than any she’d ever experience before in her life, creeping along her spine and combining with the ever-present ache in her chest, the pounding in her head.  

“Please, Oliver,” she whispered into the gag, the words muffled and indistinguishable. “Please find me. Please feel me. Please, please, please…”

Felicity was about to give up, to give in to the terror. But then… she felt the ghost of an emotion.It wasn’t something she was feeling herself right then and it was more like a projection of an emotion, a snapshot.She calmed her crying and focused on this small thing, crowding into the corner of her mind. Was it… could it be Oliver?  

It felt like… anger… urgency… desperation. The emotion was a panic unlike what she was feeling. It felt… different. Like putting on someone else’s shoes. 

That _had_ to be Oliver.Hope flared in her chest and Felicity sobbed, but this time from relief.She sent all of her emotions towards foreign feeling inside of her. _Help me… I’m here… help me… Oliver…_

It had to work. 

***

Ten minutes later, Felicity’s heart was pounding with fear and adrenaline.Her body was screaming for Oliver. She’d felt more of those ghost emotions, enough so that she was steadfastly clinging to this hope that Oliver was currently looking for her. But… time was running out. And she could hear Shaw moving around in the next room.  

She no longer had any doubt that Oliver (and the rest of the team) would find her, but she wasn’t sure if it would be in time.The thought of that was enough to make tears spring to her eyes again.As long as she made it out of this alive, that would be enough. Felicity knew this logically. But would what makes her _her_ survive the horror? She wouldn’t know until she’d lived it.And, sweet mercy, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. 

“Please,” she moaned again, as a tear leaked out of her eye, trailing down into her hairline. Hope. She _had_ to have hope. 

The burning pain in her chest eased slightly, the roar in her head calmed and Felicity sucked in a breath. The last time she’d felt the pain ease, other than when she’d landed back in Starling earlier that day, was when she’d stood in line at Big Belly Burger and saw Oliver sitting across the room. Proximity.  

Could Oliver be close by? 

She wanted to cry out or do something. Her hands were growing numb and she couldn’t even feel her toes any longer. The gag Shaw had put on her tasted foul in her mouth and she couldn’t make more than a muffled noise with it there. There was no way for her to scream for Oliver or the team or anyone else. 

Her frustration was cut short when Shaw walked back into the room.He wore the same clothes as before but his shaggy hair was damp. Felicity watched him closely as he puttered around, gathering… things. She couldn’t quite see what he was doing and he didn’t speak to her.Somehow this only served to ratchet up her fear.She let that fear push out towards where she thought she could feel Oliver’s determination, simmering deep within her. She hoped he could feel it. She hoped he _hurried_. 

The ache in her chest eased further and that determination grew… it had to mean he was getting closer.But so was Shaw.He was now walking towards her, intent.Shaw was speaking but Felicity shut him out, focusing everything on Oliver, sending her own sense of urgency and hoping that he could follow that sense to her. 

Shaw stood over her, still talking but he didn’t look as calm as he had before. He’d noticed she wasn’t giving him her full attention and clearly was displeased. A crease formed between his brows as he drew back a hand… 

_CRACK!_

He slapped her hard across the cheek, snapping her head to the side and bringing automatic tears of shock and pain to her eyes. She let that pain sizzle through whatever this connection she had with Oliver was.  

Shaw was shouting now and he was grabbing for her.Felicity writhed in her bonds, feeling the cord cut into her skin.She wouldn’t make this easy for him. She’d do whatever she could to fight, even if it was no more than letting him see the full measure of hate in her eyes.He would pay for this.He would _pay._

Shaw was reaching for her sundress and snapped one of the thin straps at her shoulder.He spoke and this time, she heard him. “You want this rough, Omega bitch?Then it’s going to be fucking _rough_.”

Felicity felt it before she heard it… A voice in her head saying just one word: _Felicity._ She cried back with all the emotion in her heart: _Oliver!_

An instant later, the door to the room she was in flew open, chunks of wood from the doorframe flying. Oliver charged the room, decked out in his Arrow gear, his bow already up and an arrow already nocked, pointed directly at Shaw’s head. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of her abduction, Oliver and Felicity have a lot to talk about. But first, Felicity is feeling unsafe and in shock and Oliver's protectiveness is rearing it's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response for the last chapter was _amazing_! I really didn't expect you guys to enjoy it as much as you did. Color me surprised! I hope you like this one as well. We get quite a few answers here, answers I know a lot of you have been wondering about. It's not over yet, of course, there's still a little ways left to go and still more things to discuss. But for now, let's take a few deep breaths and appreciate that nothing truly bad happened to our unicorn. 
> 
> I know that's what Oliver wants to do!

One minute, Duncan Shaw was looming over her and the next, he was flying backwards through the air.She saw Oliver throw his bow to the side and he was on Shaw in a flash.Then, Felicity’s view was blocked by John and Roy who rushed over to her. Dig pulled the snapped strap of her dress up and then worked at untying her hands while Roy worked on her ankles. 

They came. Her boys came and they saved her. The sheer relief crashed through her and she started to shake. 

“Hold on, Felicity,” Dig said, his jaw set.She could hear the sound of fists connecting with flesh behind him. 

Her joints screamed as the pressure was finally eased.They both gently rubbed at the abraded skin and the sensation of blood finally returning to those parts of her body made her want to scream. More tears leaked out of her eyes, soaking down into her hair. 

Dig lifted her head and untied the gag, throwing it to the side. “You’re okay, you’ll be okay,” he assured her but from the look in his eyes, she wondered if he was convincing himself as much as her.  

Roy sat on her other side and rubbed at her shoulder. “You had us pretty worried, Blondie,” he told her. “Did he hurt you?”

“M—my head…” she murmured, reaching up to touch the back of her head where it had slammed against her floor. 

Dig gently checked her. “There’s a cut back here, but it’s not bad. You’re also going to have a shiner… he hit you?” 

Felicity nodded, reaching up to touch at her cheek. It felt like it was on fire. 

“Fucking asshole,” Roy growled. 

“Oliver?” she asked.Dig moved a little so he could see what Oliver was doing.Felicity struggled to sit up, her whole body protesting the maneuver but she had to see him. 

Oliver was beating on Shaw. The other man was no longer struggling and she doubted he was even conscious.His face was red with blood and Oliver’s fist kept coming. Her heart lurched. 

“Oliver!” she cried out.She couldn’t let him do this. If he killed Shaw, then all the work he’d done this last year to reform himself would be undone. “Oliver, stop!”

Dig jumped up to pull Oliver off of Shaw and initially, he was shoved away. But Roy joined in, grabbing Oliver’s other arm and the two were able to finally pull him away. 

“Let me go!” Oliver roared, pulling against his friends.His face was twisted with rage.  

“Oliver, you can’t do this, man,” Dig said. 

“After everything he’s done, after what he was going to do to Felicity, how can you say that?” he growled. 

“The police can handle this,” Roy said, releasing Oliver and moving over to Shaw to check on him. “He’s still breathing.”

“If the police could handle this, they would have found him weeks ago.”

“Oliver…” Felicity said. Her throat burned and her heart was in her throat. She wanted to sob and curl in on herself but she wanted him to look at her, to _see_ her…

He looked up and his face fell when he saw her sitting on the bed.She held the side of her dress that had been torn up and she knew her face was streaked with tears and her hair was a wreck.  

“Oliver, man.Go to her, she needs you,” Dig said quietly. “We’ll take care of Shaw.”

Roy was already gathering the cords that had been used on Felicity to tie the monster up. Dig released Oliver and gave him a little shove in her direction. Oliver came to her as if drawn by a magnet.His arms came around her and he pulled her into his embrace, his warmth seeping through to her. Felicity felt a shudder go through him, the moment they touched.She clung to the leather of his jacket as she tried to hold her sobs at bay. She wasn’t very successful. 

“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling her away from him so he could look her over.His eyes darkened as he looked at her cheek. 

Felicity shook her head, because she was _not_ okay. “I can’t— Oliver, please…”

He seemed to know what she meant and he stood, scooping her effortlessly into his arms.He turned towards their teammates who were tying up Shaw.Shaw was still unconscious, which was probably best for his continued survival. 

“I’m taking her out of here,” Oliver announced. 

Dig looked up. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?The police might need to talk to her. She might need to go to the hospital.”

The implication there made Felicity cringe and grip Oliver’s jacket tighter.His fingers dug into her skin. 

“She wants to leave. We’re leaving,” Oliver said, brooking no argument.“We’ll feed them a tip that it was another woman, that we got here in time and she left before we could stop her.”

Roy nodded. “Go on. We’ll call this in, make sure this scumbag is picked up by the cops.”

Dig looked at them both for a moment before he nodded too. “Yeah, man, go ahead. Get her back to the foundry, take the van.Roy and I will walk… it’s not far.”

“Okay.”

“Meet you back at the foundry?”

Oliver nodded stiffly before striding out of the motel room, Felicity in his arms. The night air felt like heaven on her face as he whisked her away from her own personal hell. 

***

Oliver took her directly to the foundry. He insisted on carrying her through the alley entrance and Felicity couldn’t quite find it within her to protest. His arms were a comfort, her _only_ comfort right now. She was shaking, despite the warm summer night and knew that it was shock settling in.She’d come so very close… 

He laid her down on the med table, the cold steel beneath her making her hiss a little and arch her back. 

“Sorry,” he murmured. “Do you want me to get a blanket?”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, her chin shaking with shivers.

“You’re _not_ fine,” he said, his voice rough.She could see his face, now that he’d pushed his hood back and brought down his mask.He looked worn, haggard.He turned away and came back with the green wool blanket.Easily, he lifted her up and laid it down on the table before settling her back down.  

“I will be fine,” she corrected.Then she swallowed.“I was so scared.”

“I know.”  

His voice was quiet but held volumes. Of course he knew.He’d felt her emotions, hadn’t he? Licking her lips, Felicity pushed herself up to a sitting position, ignoring the ache in her shoulders. 

“You felt me, didn’t you?” she asked softly. 

Oliver lifted his eyes to hers and he looked hesitant, uncertain. “I felt something, yes.It’s how I knew where to find you.”

“Tell me what happened,” she said.

“I want to take care of the cut on your face first,” he told her. 

Felicity lifted a hand and felt the cut on her cheekbone. It stung when her fingers touched it and she wondered how she hadn’t noticed the small cut before.“Ow… Okay, point taken.”

She noticed the little smile on his face as he moved away to gather some first aid supplies.It wasn’t a big cut, but it did need to be cleaned and antibiotics applied. He came back and she sat up completely, swinging her legs over the side so that he could stand next to them, her knee pressing against his thigh.He leaned over, taking her face in hand as he gently cleaned the cut.  

“After you ran out of Big Belly,” he told her as he worked, “I came here, thinking you’d be here. Dig said he expected you to be here soon, that you were planning on coming. As we started talking about running a mission tonight to look for Shaw, I was getting worried that you weren’t here already. It didn’t seem like you to just ditch out like that. So I called your phone.”

“You did?”Her phone… which was in her purse, back at her apartment. 

“And I _knew_ something was up when you didn’t answer. You never ignore your phone. I told Dig and he agreed so he and I headed over to your place to have a look.When I saw the broken picture, the broken glass… I don’t know if I’ve ever been that scared, Felicity.”

“Really?” she whispered.She put her hand on his wrist as he applied some antibiotic to her cut and she barely noticed the sting.  

“I started to panic. Thank god Dig was there, he kept me focused on what we needed to do. We came back to the foundry and told Roy and he’s the first one who suggested that it was maybe Shaw who took you. That made so much sense; I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it right away. So we focused in on that abandoned building, geared up and took off. 

“We’d just gotten there when I got the first… feeling. It was such a strange sensation.”Oliver started to work on the abrasions on her wrists, where she’d pulled against her bonds. 

“I know what you mean,” Felicity said, cutting in. “I got this flash of panic and determination that felt so different from my own fear.”

“That’s exactly it. And I don’t know how I knew it was you, but I just felt it… it felt true. My chest was throbbing and I had to find you. I found that the clarity of those feelings got stronger the more we moved west from the abandoned building. Dig drove slowly and that’s how we ended up at the motel. I followed it right to the room. I could hear noises inside and… I just saw red.”

“I’m so glad you came when you did,” she murmured. 

“He didn’t… hurt you?” Oliver asked and the look on his face stole her breath away.  

Felicity shook her head. “No.”

A gust of breath left him and his shoulders hunched slightly in relief. “Thank god.”

The throbbing in her head was all but subsided. The ache in her chest had eased. She felt the pull towards him. She didn’t know what had happened with McKenna, and she was dying to ask him, but she knew in that moment that there was truth to what her mother had told her. 

“I think we need to talk,” she told him. 

He met her eyes and nodded slowly as he set the medical supplies aside. “I think so too.But this isn’t a good place.” 

“I don’t want to go back to my apartment,” she said hastily. “Not… not yet.”

His eyes softened sympathetically. “I understand. I think I know of a place I can take you.You can rest and we can talk.But first, would you like to get changed?Your dress….”

Felicity looked down to see where one side of her dress hung loose, exposing one side of her bra.She flushed and pulled it up.“I forgot about that.”

“I have some things you can change into,” he offered. 

Felicity hopped down off the table and followed Oliver over to where he was storing most of his belongings.Now that he no longer had the mansion, he’d been saying in the foundry, which just made her heart twist.She’d have to talk to him about that. She couldn’t bear the thought of him sleeping on the floor.

Oliver found a t-shirt and some cut-off sweat pants from the pile.It wasn’t much but… Felicity smiled gratefully and accepted the bundle of clothes. “I’ll be right back.” 

She went into the bathroom the boys had put in last year to change. As soon as she saw the shower, she knew she wanted to step under the hot spray.Her second shower in one day.But so much had happened since then.Surely no one would fault her. 

Felicity stripped off the ruined sundress and tossed aside her bra and underwear too. She’d be perfectly happy if she never saw any of those garments ever again. The shower was small, cramped and utilitarian but it got the job done as she scrubbed herself with Oliver’s soap, erasing all of Shaw from her body. 

When she got out, she didn’t waste much time in drying off, brushing her hair out with a brush she’d kept in here and putting the clothes Oliver had given her on.She was never wearing those underwear or that bra again but this was just a temporary solution. The pants were enormous but she found rolling the waist helped them stay up on her hips. The shirt fell down to the middle of her thighs. Both garments smelled like him and that soothed her even further.Her heart wasn’t pounding anymore.

Felicity looked at her reflection in the little mirror that hung over the sink and tried not to wince.Her hair hung damply around her shoulders and her face was bare of makeup, making her look about ten years younger. Her cheek was inflamed and red from where Shaw hit her, the cut standing out on her cheekbone.There was no way she wasn’t going to look like a victim tonight and she was just about too tired to care. 

Tossing her clothes in the garbage, Felicity walked out into the foundry to find Dig and Roy had returned. They’d been in conversation with Oliver but everyone fell quiet when she entered.Oliver’s eyes dragged over her, his expression changing slightly.Dig and Roy looked at her sympathetically and she fought to keep her head held high. 

“Okay there, blondie?” Roy asked. 

“I’ve had better days, but I think I’ll make it,” she replied, making him grin. 

“How’s the head?Concussion?” Dig asked, his eyes concerned. 

Felicity shook her head. “I think its fine. It knocked me out but, I don’t feel the symptoms.”

“I was just telling Oliver that Roy and I hung low until we saw the cops come and pick Shaw up. He won’t be a problem for you or anyone else again,” Dig told her. 

“That’s good. That’s… very good.”

Oliver crossed to her and put an arm around her shoulders. She noticed he’d changed too, into cargo pants and a grey t-shirt. There was a duffle bag at his feet, presumably packed with some of his clothes. Dang, when he said he wanted to go somewhere to talk, he wasn’t kidding! 

“You’re cold,” he told her. 

“A little.”She rather thought it was the evening’s events catching up to her and as Oliver looked her over, he seemed to come to the same conclusion. 

“I think we’re going to head out,” he told Roy and Dig.“Dig, you remember the spot I told you about?I think we’ll go there.You know how to contact us if you need us. It’ll just be a few days until Felicity gets her feet under her again.”

“Go ahead, you guys.We can handle things here,” Dig assured them. 

“Take care of our tech girl,” Roy said to Oliver. 

He squeezed her against his side.“I will.”

***

They rode on Oliver’s Ducati, just like when he’d taken her to the shelter. He offered to go by her apartment, pack up a bag of her things and take her Mini to where he wanted to go.Felicity was reluctant but had to admit that it wasn’t a bad idea to get ahold of her suppressants and some necessities.Like maybe underwear. Oliver assured her she wouldn’t have to go inside, so long as she told him where to find the things she needed. 

So Felicity sat in the passenger side of her Mini Cooper while Oliver went inside her apartment to pack a quick bag.He was back within ten minutes and by then, Felicity was shaking pretty hard.  

“Oh, Felicity, I’m sorry,” he said, when he saw. “I didn’t realize you’d be this upset…”

“Just… let’s go, Oliver. I want to get to where we’re going.” 

He nodded and drove them onto the highway headed out of town and into the mountains. Felicity knew that while they were in the car was a great time to talk, but she was starting to crash from all the stress and adrenaline. 

She stayed in the car while Oliver ran into a grocery store to pick up some food for them, resting her head against the window. Shortly after they got on the road again, her eyes drifted shut about ten minutes after they passed the city limits and she slept the rest of the way. 

She woke up to Oliver shaking her shoulder.“Hey,” he said softly.“We’re here.”

Felicity blinked her eyes and looked out the window as Oliver got out and came around the hood to open her door.It was dark, it had to be the middle of the night by now, but there were security lights lighting up tall pine trees that surrounded a modest looking cabin. 

“What is this place?” she asked him as he took her hand to help her step out. 

“This cabin used to belong to my grandparents. It was a vacation home they built when they first were married and my grandfather was still earning his fortune. This was actually what they did with their first windfall. My grandmother loved the mountains and my grandfather wanted to give this to her.”

“That’s so sweet!” 

The log structure wasn’t anything like what she would have expected. It looked homey and rustic and utterly charming. There was a stone path leading up to a wrap-around porch. The cabin looked well cared for, as if someone had been keeping an eye on it. She turned a questioning eye to Oliver, who still held her hand as he grabbed her bag and his from the back of the Mini.

“You’re wondering who’s been taking care of it,” Oliver said, smiling as he lead her up the path. 

“Well, yeah. Didn’t Isabel seize all your family’s assets?” she asked. 

“She did. But this wasn’t listed with them. My grandfather left this cabin to me when he died. I was seventeen years old at the time. Anyhow, the will stipulated a caretaker, a local family who lives year round down the road a ways.The cabin doesn’t take much… just some airing out in the spring, keeping the vegetation from creeping on, minor repairs.. That sort of thing.”

“I had no idea you had this place.”

“I don’t get to spend much time here. Haven’t had a reason to.”He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, opening it and stepping back so she could walk through. “I’ve probably only been up here three times since I’ve been back from the island. I know Thea came up here with Mom and Walter a few times while I was gone.It hasn’t been empty the whole time.”

He flipped a light on, revealing a wide open space that was dominated by an enormous stone fireplace on one wall and opened into a large kitchen on the other side of the room. Sheets lay over the furnishings, but the walls and floors were all wood and Felicity got a soothing impression of warmth and home.  

“Wow,” she breathed. 

“There’s a couple bedrooms in the back. Thea and I always had to share when we’d come up here with mom and dad. We didn’t come very often… my parents liked fancier vacations but Thea and I loved it. I actually used to come up here with my grandparents when I was little and they were still able.Spent some great summers here.”

Felicity tried to imagine a young Oliver Queen running around this cabin, playing with his toys, running outside in the woods and enjoying his time here. She could almost see it.It was a charming image and she wondered if there were any pictures lurking around the cabin somewhere to fill the gaps in her immagination.  

“This looks like the perfect place to spend summers,” Felicity murmured, running her fingers across the back of a sheet covered sofa. 

She went around the great room, pulling sheets off, while Oliver went out to bring in the groceries. After he put them away, he joined her, folding up the sheets and tossing them in a corner to be laundered and reused when they inevitably left.  

“You look exhausted,” he told her. “Let me finish airing this place out, you go lay down.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.He nodded. “I put your bag in the first room at the end of the hall.It’s the bigger room.”

“Oh.. Okay.” He wouldn’t be staying in the room with her?

“I’ll be in the other room, right next door,” he said, answering her unspoken question.And then, “If you need me, just call.I’ll be right there.” 

Felicity smiled at him, grateful.“Thank you, Oliver.”

“Sleep tight,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. 

The room was bigger than she expected. The bed was charming… an enormous four poster with a thick wooden frame and a hand-sewn quilt laid across the foot, underneath the dust-sheet.There was an attached bathroom with a claw-foot tub and a detachable shower-head.The whole effect was like something out of a bed and breakfast. Felicity took a deep breath and blew it out, releasing the tension that still clung to her.She could sleep in this room.She could feel safe here.That was what was important. 

As she changed into the tank top and shorts pajama set that Oliver had packed for her, Felicity mused about how he hadn’t pushed her for anything tonight. Not to talk or for any overt demonstrations of affection or anything. He didn’t even expect to share a bed.She wouldn’t have said no, if he’d insisted.But he was giving her space. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, she was appreciative that he was being so gentle with her because of her attack. 

On the other, she wouldn’t have minded a little physical comfort. 

It didn’t take her long to fall asleep in the huge bed. The pillows were soft and the blankets were comforting. In the morning, she promised herself, she and Oliver would talk. 

***

The scent of bacon and coffee lured Felicity out of bed the next morning.Her joints, especially at her shoulders and legs, ached horribly.She winced and moaned as she sat up in bed and pulled the covers away.Maybe she’d have to do some stretching after breakfast, work out the kinks and aches. Oliver would probably know what to do. 

She shuffled into the bathroom and after she was done relieving herself and washing up, she headed out to find the source of the heavenly smells.Felicity found Oliver in the kitchen, standing over the stove and poking at a pan with a spatula. She stopped, leaning against the far counter, and just watched him.He turned the scrambled eggs before checking on the bacon as it bubbled and crisped another pan.Then he turned to check on the toaster, where a few slices of bread just popped up.  

Oliver cooked.She never would have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.And he seemed particularly intent about it, she observed as she watched him carefully add seasoning to the eggs.Her mouth started to water, reminding her she hadn’t had anything to eat in a long, long, _long_ time. 

“Where’s the coffee?” she asked and Oliver jumped a little. Had she really managed to sneak up on him? She should note it down in a book somewhere for posterity. 

“You’re awake!” he said, turning around and smiling.Then, he saw the tank and shorts she’d slept in and seemed to stumble a bit.“Ahh…”

“Coffee?” she prompted him. 

“Yes, coffee…” He set the spatula down and turned to the coffee pot, pouring life-fuel into a ceramic mug. Felicity walked over and accepted it from him, taking a long drink and pretending she didn’t see the way his eyes coasted over her body.  

“Thank you. I needed this bad,” she told him.“I also need some of those eggs!I didn’t know you could cook…”

Oliver shrugged as he turned back to his eggs, turning off the heat and removing the pans from the stove. “I did a little when I was growing up, hanging out in the kitchen with Raisa. There wasn’t much opportunity on the island, unfortunately.Shoot, I don’t have much opportunity now, even. It’s not like the foundry has a kitchen.”

“Maybe we should fix that,” she suggested, grinning over the rim of her mug. 

Oliver smiled wryly. “You want me to fix dinner for the team every night?”

Felicity shrugged as she crossed to the small table that sat in front of a huge window that overlooked the woods outside. “You can switch off with Dig.”

He laughed at that and she smiled at the sound.She wished he’d laugh more. Oliver was such a serious man and it made sense with who he was now, and what he did, but there was a lighter man inside of him that deserved to see the light of day from time to time.  

He set a plate in front of her, piled with fluffy eggs, toast and bacon, then took the seat next to her with his own plate. Felicity mumbled out a thank you before diving in. Everything tasted incredible and she was embarrassed that she couldn’t tell if it was because Oliver had done such an amazing job or if it was because she was so hungry.  

They ate in silence and Felicity didn’t even stop to think until she was finishing up her last slice of bacon.She sat back in her chair, chewing and swallowing. 

“Oh god, Oliver. That was fantastic.”

He smiled as he wiped at his mouth with a napkin. “Thank you. I knew you had to be pretty hungry. I know I was, and I didn’t miss dinner.”

A shadow fell over her mood at the reminder of how she’d seen him at Big Belly Burger.What irritated her more than anything was that it wasn’t really her place to be upset, but she was anyway.Oliver sensed her shift in thoughts and sat back, pushing his plate away. “Maybe we should have that talk now,” he suggested. 

“Yes, maybe we should.”The dishes could wait until later. 

Felicity got up and walked into the living room, selecting an overstuffed chair in front of the fireplace.It was far too warm for a fire, but she imagined for a moment how it must look with flames dancing in the grate.She sensed Oliver sit on the sofa next to her but she didn’t look his way. 

“Why did you run out of Big Belly last night?” he asked. Felicity made a face. Of course he would lead with that. Maybe he didn’t understand after all. 

“I saw you with McKenna,” she replied, keeping her face turned from his. “I’d thought… well, I don’t know if I was wrong now, but at the time, I thought it meant I was wrong. It made me panic, a little.”

“Why?” 

He was pushing her and she didn’t like it. “You know damn well why,” she grumbled. “I didn’t want to be wrong, Oliver. I didn’t like how it felt to think I’d been foolish. And I fully realize the irony of that, considering panicking made me kind of foolish.”

“Well, at least you can see that.” 

Felicity glared at the fireplace. 

“Why were you there, Oliver?With McKenna? I thought she moved away from Starling?”

“She was in town for a visit.She still has some family here. She asked if I wanted to meet for dinner.That’s all it was.”

Felicity still didn’t like it. “I saw her touch your hand.You smiled.I— I had an experience in Vegas where someone touched me and it… hurt.When I saw that at Big Belly, it made me think that whatever has been happening to me was one sided.”She bit her lip, worrying that she’d said too much.Even now, she was trying to protect her heart. Everything that had happened last night was so raw and intense and fresh in her mind but she couldn’t forget herself in all of this. 

“Felicity…” She felt his hand land on her arm but she didn’t look around to meet his eyes. “It’s not.When… McKenna touched me it felt like she was burning me. But… Well, I’m used to pain. I’m used to hiding my pain from others. I didn’t want to scare her. That’s all.”

“You smiled,” she reminded him. 

“She’s a friend.She always will be. Like I said, I didn’t want to alarm her. But it hurt, and it startled me a bit.Then, I saw you there.”

“I couldn’t deal with it at the moment. I had to go home.”

“I can understand that. I should have gone after you. If I had, then Shaw wouldn’t have been able to take you.”

Felicity turned then and met his eye.He was watching her seriously.“Why did you act the way you did at the Sanctuary?You were so cold that morning.You acted like you couldn’t get away quick enough.”

Oliver sighed heavily.“I felt guilty. I thought I’d taken advantage of you when you were vulnerable. I… I really enjoyed the time we shared and that worried me. You trusted me to help you, you trusted that our friendship would remain intact and I felt like I had used that trust to fulfill my own wants.”

She blinked and sat forward in her chair.He wasn’t making any sense. “What do you mean, Oliver? I was the one who trapped you into that situation. If anything, I’m the one responsible for ruining our friendship. I shouldn’t have gone off my suppressants to begin with, I should have recognized what was happening to me, I should have left the foundry before you arrived that night…”

His expression changed and he almost looked hurt. “Are you saying you regret it?”

Oh god.What a question. Did she? That was like asking if she regretted witnessing a shooting star or watching the sun set. “I can’t,” she finally answered, her voice a whisper.“And that’s probably the worst part.”

“I thought I’d be helping you if I put some distance between us. I didn’t want you to think you had to explain anything to me,” he told her. 

“And I thought I’d done something wrong.”

“I should have talked to you. I’m sorry. I was just… scared.”

Felicity could understand that. And as much as she was scared of asking the next question, she knew she had to. “What were you scared of, Oliver?”

Now it was his turn to look away.He looked down at the floor, chewing on his lip. “You remember the night we took down Slade, right? When I gave you the syringe in my family’s home?”

How could she forget? “Yes.”

“You asked me later, on the beach on Lian Yu, if I had meant what I’d said.”

“Well, I didn’t really _ask_ , I just said that I thought for a moment you might have meant it,” Felicity mumbled, her cheeks heating with embarrassment as she remembered how she’d hoped, for one breathless minute, that he would tell her that he had meant it.But he hadn’t said _anything_.He’d just stood there, smiling at her. 

“You were asking, Felicity.”He shrugged a little. “I didn’t know how to answer.Because if I told you the truth, I thought that everything would change, that _we_ would change. I didn’t want to risk that.”

“And what was the truth, Oliver?”She held her breath, even now hoping for a particular answer. 

“I did mean it. It wasn’t just a lie to fool Slade. I’d spent that whole year running from how I was feeling about you, I even hid behind a relationship with Sara. But on that night, with everything at stake, I used the truth on the off-chance— on the _hope_ — that it would save us all.And it did.”

Her heart lurched in her chest.“So wait… are you saying—?”

“I’m saying that I love you, Felicity Smoak.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity continue their emotional talk and come to a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience this morning! I didn't sleep great last night; my husband was snoring extra loud (right in my ear!) and kept me up for HOURS. Plus I had Star Wars on the brain (yes, I saw it last night!). So I'm operating on very little sleep here. I'm all kinds of distracted right now. 
> 
> So here it is. Lots of fluff for you to enjoy. Keep in mind there will be two bonus chapters on top of the original 9. There's a bit of a future-oneshot and also a selection of scenes from this story from Oliver's POV. (So really, we're looking at 11 total chapters, not 9!)

_“I love you, Felicity Smoak.”_

Felicity knew she was staring at him but she couldn’t believe what he’d just told her.Before that night in the empty Queen Mansion, she’d dreamed about it in that, “this will never, ever happen” sort of way.Since that night, she’d replayed those words coming from his lips in her mind so many times, wondering what it would be like to hear them and know that he meant them. The actuality of him sitting here right now, looking her in the eye and saying those words… it took her breath away. 

She’d always prided herself on being able to tell when Oliver was lying, from the moment they met. Of course, that wasn’t saying a lot because the coffee shop excuse had been completely terrible. But it wasn’t just the big lies she could detect; she could see through the little ones too. Whenever he would lay on that false “Ollie Queen” charm, she would see through it in an instant. When he’d tell her he was fine after a particularly difficult or emotional night, she knew he was lying. Mostly, she let him get away with the lies, she was content with knowing the truth for herself and she understood it was important for him to be able to hide a bit of himself away.  

He was healing, and it was a slow process, after all. 

That could be why the love confession in the mansion had thrown her so hard. It hadn’t _felt_ like one of his lies. Even after he pressed the syringe into her hand, she’d wondered. But with his refusal to elaborate on that beach, Felicity had found it easier to accept the lie. To tell herself that he’d done it just so they could fool Slade. Accepting that lie meant her heart wouldn’t be risked. And it wasn’t unreasonable to think that Oliver could very well lie to her and she wouldn’t know about it, especially if emotions were involved.

But now… There was no escaping the look in Oliver’s eye as he watched her absorb what he said.She saw the absolute truth of his words and it stunned her, warmed her and made her heart speed up all at once. 

“Wow,” she breathed, unable to take her eyes off his. 

“And… do you…? 

The sheer uncertainty in Oliver’s eyes made her huff out a breath, almost a half-laugh. The great womanizer, hesitant and unsure of how someone felt about him? How _she_ felt about him?She’d thought it’d been ridiculously apparent, all this time. 

“Don’t be silly, you big lug,” she murmured, reaching up to place a hand on his cheek. “Of course I love you too.”

He blew out a breath and his eyes sparkled. “Oh, thank god.”

“But can you tell me one thing?Why didn’t you tell me you meant it when we were on Lian Yu?” she asked. 

“I didn’t tell you the truth on that beach because I thought that it was better we not go down that path. I worried that because of what I do, that it meant I couldn’t have that kind of happiness in my life,” he explained. 

Felicity recalled a crisp day in November after an exhausting trip to Russia, words spoken in a glassed-in office, the feeling of her heart plummeting, not just for herself, but for him as well. 

“I remember,” she replied. “And I still stand by what I said. You _deserve_ more.”

Oliver nodded. “I thought keeping you at arms length was the best way to keep you safe, to keep my heart safe, to keep my life uncomplicated.But if the last couple of weeks have taught me anything, it’s that denying this pull between us is far more complicated than simply accepting it.”

Her heart caught in her throat again and Felicity laughed breathlessly. “Well, I could have told you that.”

“I wouldn’t have listened,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. 

“Always so stubborn. Always having to learn things the hard way,” she murmured fondly. 

His grin lit up the room. “Yes, I do.But the point is, I _learned_.Felicity, this last week while you were in Vegas was hell.Dig could probably tell you. I was no fit company for anyone. Having you so far away was agony. That connection between us… it hurt to have it incomplete.”

“How did you find out about the bond? I didn’t even realize it until my mother pointed it out to me.”

Oliver smiled a little and looked around the room. “My grandparents were soulmates,” he told her. 

Just like her mother’s grandparents. Maybe it wasn’t as uncommon as she’d thought, maybe it was just something private.Something special. “Did they tell you?” she asked. 

“I could see it. There was this obvious connection between them that didn’t exist with my parents. But yes, when I got older, before he died, my grandfather told me about how found out that my grandmother was his soulmate. He told me he wished for me that I would find mine.”

“Wow… Oliver, that’s, well, it’s lovely. My mother’s grandparents were soulmates too. She told me all about them while I was in Vegas. That’s how I realized the ache in my chest was from the bond.”

Oliver nodded. “If you hadn’t come home when you did, I was going to come to you. That dinner with McKenna just proved the point that I was still hoping to outrun. I found out that I couldn’t bear to have her or any other woman touch me. That much was obvious. There is only one for me and it’s you.”

His eyes clouded for a moment. “I knew something was wrong right away, you know, after you ran out of the diner. I didn’t know what it was, but my skin was just _itching_ with it. When I realized you’d been taken, it made that ache in my chest explode. I felt like I was having a heart attack. I _had_ to find you. I knew you were my soulmate, I couldn’t lie to myself any longer, and it was my purpose to find you and keep you safe.”

“I hated being so helpless,” Felicity admitted. “It felt wrong to lay there and wait for rescue.”

“But you didn’t,” Oliver argued.He leaned forward and took her hands in his. “Don’t you see? You reached out for me. Even though our bond isn’t complete, you still used it to alert me. I didn’t even know you could _do_ that. It’s because of that that I was able to find you when I did.”

“And I’m _so glad_ you did.” 

“God, me too. Come here,” he urged, pulling on her hands. “I need to have you in my arms.”

Felicity got up from her chair and moved over to the sofa, intending to sit next to him but Oliver pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and holding her so close against him.Even through the soft cotton of his t-shirt, she could feel the warmth of him seeping into her.She sighed at how _right_ it felt as she buried her nose in his neck.  

“If I ever lost you… I don’t know what I’d do,” Oliver admitted, murmuring the words into her tousled hair. 

She tightened her own arms around him. 

“I need to bond with you, Felicity. Even now, holding you like this… it’s not just my mind and my heart, but my _body_ wants it.Does that make sense? Can you feel it too?”

Felicity stilled as she tried to hear what her body was telling her. There was a contentment that was purely physical, that came from being held by him. But there was also steady thrum of _want_. Yes, she wanted more. Felicity was so used to wanting more around this man that she’d gotten in the habit of tuning that desire out. But now, with him holding her and knowing that he loved her, her very being was still calling for more. 

“Yes, I do,” she said. Her fingers twined in the cotton of his t-shirt.“Are you sure, Oliver?Everything I learned said that this is a _huge_ commitment. Bigger than marriage, even. This is for life, no taking it back.”

Oliver drew her away so he could look her in the eye. His blue eyes were clear and sober. “Felicity, even if I wasn’t an Alpha and you weren’t an Omega and if there was no such thing as soulmates, I would still want to spend my life with you. I would still want to marry you.That’s what my heart wants. I might have been running from that for the better part of a year but I know it in my heart. This adds a layer, a big one, but I welcome it because it just reaffirms what I’ve probably known on a deep level since the moment we met.”

“What’s that?”

“That you’re my soulmate. I’m not the least bit surprised that it’s you, for me.Are you?” 

She smiled at him and he answered with his own. She thought back to their meeting, that shot-up laptop, the way he’d stumbled and smiled at her awkward babbling. “No, I’m not surprised.”

Still smiling, Oliver bent his head and Felicity leaned up and their lips met in the middle in a soft, tender kiss. He cupped her head in his hands, his thumbs brushing her cheeks as he kissed her as though she was made of the most delicate china. Felicity wasn’t content with that, however. She nipped at his lower lip, causing him to gasp a bit. From there, the kiss deepened and Felicity dug her fingers into his shoulders. Finally, Oliver tore his mouth from hers, breathing hard. 

“Felicity…” 

“Yes…” She didn’t even have to hear the question, she already knew the answer. 

“I want to bond with you… I can’t have you and not… I _need_ to complete this, Felicity,” he told her, the words puffing against her cheek. 

Her whole body flamed at the suggestion and the obvious desire in his voice. “I want that too,” she admitted, her voice roughened with desire. 

“Are you sure? Right now? Felicity, like you said, this is huge… Maybe we can wait. We can talk some more about it…”

“And keep our hands off each other?” Felicity drew back and gave him a doubtful look. 

Oliver huffed a laugh. “I think we can do it. If it’s important, we can.”

“So what are you suggesting?”Felicity bit her lip and Oliver groaned lowly and ducked his head. 

“That we take a few days here. Things are quiet right now in Starling, now that Shaw is in custody. We can spend time together, get to know each other even better, strengthen this connection between us before we take that big step. What do you say?”

Felicity had to admit that he made some sense. Soul bonding sounded like a very big deal and wasn’t something they should just entertain casually. Plus… a few days in a secluded cabin with Oliver? Where fighting crime and the threat of death or injury didn’t hang over their heads?Definitely appealing. Especially if he was going to keep cooking for her.

She smiled at him. “I think it’s a great plan. But what about us? You say we can’t have sex without you wanting to complete the bond… Does this mean we don’t touch?”To illustrate her point, and because she was feeling a little playful, Felicity drew off of his lap, standing up before him. “That we don’t kiss?”She took a few steps back…

Before she could get out of arm’s reach, Oliver’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.In one lightning fast motion, he yanked her back into his lap.“The hell we don’t,” he growled, before devouring her mouth. Felicity had wanted to tease him a little longer, she wanted to pull away and make a game of it, but then his tongue was tangling with hers and her spine turned to jelly and that was that.Would she ever get over how it felt to be kissed by him, to be utterly surrounded by him? He felt so good, and tasted even better. 

After a minute, they breathlessly broke apart and his eyes were hot on hers. “Wow. Okay, I guess that answers that question,” she gasped.

“Damn right, it does.”

***

What followed their big conversation was a week like Felicity had never spent in her life. At the heart of it, this was a vacation and neither of them had had a real vacation in a long, long time. She was finally able to see Oliver relaxed and happy and found the sight was something she wanted to see a lot more of. And she wanted more of this for herself too. Even when she and Cooper had been together back at MIT, it hadn’t been quite like this week with Oliver. They’d had classes and their own lives all sorts of distractions from one another.As much as she’d loved Cooper, she still felt they had separate lives.  

With Oliver, it felt very different.It wasn’t that they weren’t individuals, it was more like they combined to come together in a way that complimented each other’s strengths and weaknesses.She had a hard time describing it, even to herself. 

When she mentioned what she was thinking to Oliver, he’d smiled and said “Like Voltron.”

“Like _what_?” 

“Voltron!” When he saw her blank look, he threw up his hands.“Oh, come on.Didn’t you see that cartoon when you were a kid?” 

“No…?”

“Seriously? It wasn’t on the air any longer by the time I was old enough to watch cartoons, but we got one satellite tv channel that played all kinds of cartoons, including old ones. That one was on in the afternoons when I got home from school. Anyhow, the point was there were these fighters who had these robotic lions they piloted.When they fought a particular nasty bad guy, they joined up to form one giant robot.”

“Ohhh… so like the Power Rangers, then.”

Oliver wrinkled his nose, clearly not liking the comparison. “I suppose.”

Which then, of course, devolved into a spirited debate between them about the merits (or lack thereof according to Oliver) of the Power Rangers. That debate ended up in Oliver pinning her to the floor of the living room (on the rug thank goodness for her still aching muscles) and tickling her until she agreed that “Voltron kicks the Power Rangers’ ass.”

***

That afternoon, Felicity found a stash of old board games in one of the closets so, since there was no television and no internet, playing board games became a great form of evening entertainment.They’d sit at the kitchen table and play The Game of Life or Monopoly or Parcheesi, Oliver, it turned out, was unbeatable at Monopoly. But Felicity had the upper hand when it came to Clue. He insisted she was cheating every time she accurately called the murder. 

One time, when they were playing Candyland, of all things, Oliver made her so mad that she got up from the table and went to the bedroom and locked herself in. She wouldn’t talk to him for an hour after that and even then he had to use a glass of wine and freshly grilled steaks to lure her back out.  

This was how they learned just how competitive each other was. Honestly, even with the spats, Felicity wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It kept their evenings interesting and the making up afterward was pretty fantastic. 

***

One night, Oliver insisted he was going to teach her how to make spaghetti.He said she needed to know how to cook at least one meal without burning it. Felicity insisted she’d gotten along just fine for twenty-five years with take-out and tv dinners but Oliver turned puppy dog eyes on her and she couldn’t resist. 

She was developing a love/hate relationship with how he’d use that against her.

She stood at his side dutifully while he explained how to measure the dry pasta, how to break it in half, how to salt the water in the pot and how long to boil the pasta until it was the perfect consistency. 

“But it’s not done,” she protested when he had her taste a noodle. 

“Of course it’s done.”

“It’s _chewy_.”

“It’s supposed to be chewy, Felicity. It’s called _al dente_.”

“How do you even _know_ this??”

“I told you, I used to help Raisa in the kitchen.”

“When we’re soul-bonded, can we hire Raisa back to cook for us?”

“Felicity…”

“I’m just saying, I think it’d be brilliant to have her. The stories you’ve already told me make her sound like a saint.”

“I do miss her…”

“See, I’m right.” 

“You always think you’re right.”His smile gave him away.Felicity smiled back. 

“You like when I’m right.”

***

 One afternoon, while Oliver was out doing a run for groceries (he’d asked her to come along but she wanted to hang back, not ready to acknowledge the outside world just yet), Felicity explored the old cabin.In a cabinet in the living room, she found some old photo albums and she pulled them out, sitting cross-legged on the floor as she paged through them. 

Most of the photos were very old and of an attractive young couple that Felicity guessed were Oliver’s grandparents.Some of the pictures showed the cabin being built. The years progressed and she saw pictures of the couple’s children, a boy and a girl.Felicity wondered who the girl was… she’d never heard Oliver refer to any aunt or extended family beyond his own.She’d have to ask him about it later. 

The boy, then, was Robert Queen. He was fair haired and had a mischievous grin that made her think of Oliver.She watched him and his sister grow up into teenagers, then there were fewer pictures. After a while, there was only Robert… no sign of his sister.Felicity got a bad feeling in her gut when she noticed that.  

In one of the albums, she saw Robert and a young Moira at the cabin, smiling in front of the fireplace that she sat in front of herself this very minute.They both looked young and happy. She marveled over the transformation in Moira that she saw, wishing she’d gotten to know the Queen matriarch more as she saw her in these pictures than the cool, calculating woman she was at the end of her life. 

Felicity turned the pages quicker then, wanting to see a young Oliver.The next book gave her what she wanted to see: Moira holding a little bundle on the steps of the cabin, a tired but happy smile on her face. The caption beneath read: “Robert and Moira bring young Oliver to the cabin on his first vacation; 3 months old.”

She watched Oliver grow up and noticed how much like Robert he looked as a young boy.There was that same fair hair, that same mischievous smile. It made her wonder if this is what their child would look like, one day.The thought made her heart speed up in her chest.

Felicity pored over these pictures now, her eyes on Oliver as he grew up in front of the camera lens. She was charmed to see he’d gone through a gangly stage, all legs and arms and shooting up in height.She saw him with baby Thea, holding her in his arms with a big cheesy grin on his face.There were pictures that showed Thea chasing after Oliver as she grew older, trying to keep up with him.After a while, Moira and Robert weren’t in the pictures anymore but Oliver was there… posing with his grandparents who beamed at him with twin expressions of pride on their lined faces. 

Felicity started feeling a little emotional. She didn’t have pictures like this in her past. There were no family vacations like this for her growing up. She’d had plenty of happy moments in her childhood but _nothing_ like this. And for as much as Oliver has suffered in recent years, she’s so glad to see that he had such a nice childhood.  

And, gosh, he was _adorable_.Again, it made her wonder what their children might look like. More than that, it made her want to find out.

_That_ thought made a flock of butterflies take up residence in her belly. It was scary in that very specific _good_ _scary_ sort of way.Felicity didn’t think it was something she was interested in anytime soon, but down the road?She could definitely see some little blonde children up here at the cabin with them.Oliver, teaching them how to fish.And make spaghetti. 

She’d have to start another photo album. 

***

“So, when we were at the shelter together, you told me you’d fantasized about me giving you blow jobs as your EA.”

“What are you getting at, Felicity?”

“I was just… wondering if you’d had any other fantasies back then.”

“I had about a million fantasies about you, Felicity.But what about you?”

“Did I have fantasies about you?”

“Yeah…”

“Mmm. Only all the time. I couldn’t help it! Every time I turned around you were strutting around the office with your sleeves rolled up or doing the friggin’ salmon ladder!”

“What was your favorite fantasy?”

“I don’t want to say…”

“Are you blushing? After everything? C’mon, Felicity. If you tell me, I’ll tell you another of my fantasies.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Alright.Okay, don’t judge. But I used to dream about you coming into my bedroom at night, dressed up as the Arrow. Hood up, mask on…You wouldn’t say anything and then I’d kiss you and you just… you’d take me. Hard. Often against the wall or the door or on my dresser…”

“Holy shit, Felicity.” 

“I know, its super embarrassing.”

“No! I think that’s super hot, actually!”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, I think we should act that one out when we get back home.”

“Oh… yeah, I can definitely get behind that.”

“Guh… don’t say _get_ _behind_. You’re making this control shit even harder.”

“Sorry.So now you have to tell me yours.”

“Mmm.Well speaking of _getting behind_ … I used to fantasize about bending you over my desk at QC and pounding into you until you screamed.”

“Ohhh…”

“Are we going to be acting that one out too?”

“Yeah, I think so…”

***

After their first night at the cabin, Oliver shared the larger bedroom with her every night.The first night was adorably awkward (or at least, she could think that now that it was past them; at the time it’d just been _awkward_ ). He’d hung back, unsure, as she’d gotten ready for bed, easing carefully into the bed behind her. He’d stayed clear over on his side until Felicity had huffed in frustration and told him to snuggle her already, damn it. 

He’d been so hesitant, so tentative, as he wrapped an arm around her and fit his body up against hers. When she’d threaded her fingers through his, holding his hand against her belly, he’d finally relaxed.But the best part by far was falling asleep with him right there and then waking him him there still.It had been so pleasant and sweet that Felicity decided that, for now at least, she could ignore the feeling of him hard against her rear.Though it was rather difficult not to tease him just a little bit, to see if his resolve could hold.

It always did, though his eyes would darken and flash in warning when she pushed a little too far. 

After that, sleeping together became as natural as breathing. They each had a side of the bed, they each had rituals they performed before bed, including her taking her suppressants and him flossing his teeth while Felicity teased him about his gum health.They shared a cup for their toothbrushes on the bathroom counter.It was so domestic that it almost made Felicity’s heart split open with happiness.  

Somewhere around the fourth day, Felicity realized that she would be waking up with this man for the rest of her life, once they were bonded. The thought only made her panic a little bit. On the fifth day, Felicity decided she wouldn’t want to have it any other way. 

***

“What’s your biggest fear?” 

“You’re going straight to that, huh?No easing into it?”

“Hey, you said to ask anything, Oliver. And I’m curious.”

“Why?”

“Because you look like you don’t fear anything. You’re big and strong and always so… in charge.”

“I fear a lot of things, Felicity.”

“You don’t have to tell me—“

“No… no.I want to. It’s just… my biggest fear is something happening to the people I love.You.Thea.Diggle.You’re all my family, blood or chosen. I don’t know what I’d do without any of you.”

“Oh… Oliver.”

“So what’s your biggest fear?” 

“Well… I was going to say spiders but after what you just said that sounds kinda stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.”

“It is! You said something so sweet and meaningful and here I am scared of a _bug_.”

“Hey.Felicity, I’m glad you’re not afraid of anything bigger than that. I wouldn’t want that for you.”

“See, there you are, being sweet again.”

“Besides, spiders are scary.”

“Right?I mean, who needs _that many eyes_??”

“Exactly.”

***

On the fifth day of their vacation at the cabin, Oliver suggested they go hiking. Felicity hadn’t ever gone voluntarily hiking a single day in her life and was unsure if this was something she wanted to attempt. 

“I don’t even have proper hiking attire,” she pointed out to him. 

Oliver solved that (a little too neatly, if you asked her) by finding some old hiking boots in the guest room closet. They fit her well enough so Felicity realized, grudgingly, that she had no real reason to protest. She put on a cute pair of shorts and a breezy tank top before putting her hair up into a ponytail. She debated contacts or glasses before deciding contacts would be better so she could also wear her favorite sunglasses. Oliver whistled in appreciation when she stepped out of the room and she did a little twirl for him. 

It was a warm day, possibly the warmest yet since they’d been up in the mountains.Oliver had packed them some drinks and sandwiches into a little backpack and together, they set off down a trail they found not too far from the back door of the cabin.  

“Do you remember where this one goes?” she asked him as they picked their way along the trail. 

Oliver shook his head. “Nope. But part of the fun will be rediscovering it, don’t you think?”

And Felicity had to admit that it was beautiful, the way the sun filtered through the pine trees, the smell of the woodsy underbrush, the chirping of the birds. Oliver’s hand in hers made it even better. He pointed out different plants here and there and talked about the fun he used to have coming here when he was a boy. That’s when Felicity remembered that she hadn’t told him about the photo albums yet. 

“I found your grandparents’ pictures yesterday while you were at the store,” she said, swinging their connected hands between them. 

“Oh yeah?”

“I’ll have to show them to you later; there’s a lot of great stuff in there. Your grandparents, your parents… you, of course.” 

“Oh…”

“You were an adorable little boy,” Felicity told him, nudging his arm with her shoulder. 

“You realize, now I have to go visit your mom and have her show me old pictures of _you_ , don’t you?”

Felicity’s step faltered.“Really?Can’t we just… skip that part?”

Oliver chuckled.“Which part?Looking at your old pictures or visiting your mom?”

“Both, actually.My mom is… interesting.”

“I can’t wait to meet her.” 

Felicity couldn’t even _begin_ to imagine what Oliver might think of her mother. 

“It was great getting to you see as a little boy.See your parents and your grandparents…” 

“I’d like to look. I barely remember what mom and dad looked like back when they were young and happy.”

Felicity noticed the way his shoulders sagged and she squeezed his hand. “But they _were_ happy once.Right?”

“Yeah. Once. But it changed.”

“When?”  

“I don’t really remember,” he said, sighing.“I don’t think I noticed at first. Knowing what I know now, I’d have to guess around the time Thea came around. Which would make sense.”

“It would.”

“I really noticed it when I was a teenager. They never went on vacations together anymore. I had to come up here to visit my grandparents on my own.” Oliver shrugged. “They never had that bond that my grandparents had. That we have.”

“So we’ll do better, right?” she asked.

He smiled down at her. “Yes, we will.”

Felicity squeezed his hand as they walked along the trail and she realized, with sudden clarity, that she was ready. More than ready, actually. She wanted this man, not only to be her husband, but to be her bond-mate. He was her soulmate, forever, and no extra time spent together was going to change that. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry to leave it there. I KNOW, I KNOW. Listen, I got to the scene on the couch, where they were talking out their feelings and I realized... I wasn't ready yet. I wanted to give them a little more time together before jumping into a soul-bond. But the good news is: it made the story a little longer for you all! Enjoy the fluffiness!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity both agree that it's time for them to complete their bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have it! The last chapter. There is smut in this chapter so be aware if that's not something you like to read. But I will say there's some story importance to it here. There is a small epilogue at the end. 
> 
> I do plan to extend this story with two more stories/chapters. I haven't decided yet whether to add it on to this story or create separate one shots and contain them within a series. If you subscribe to me as a writer, you will get an alert when I publish something (I'll be posting both in the next two days). One is a compilation of scenes from Oliver's POV and the other is... well a bit of a look into the future that I wanted to have fun with. You'll see. ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this and THANK YOU for joining me on this ride. I was surprised, to be honest, that so many loved it. It's a strange trope and my last fic didn't get near this much attention. But thank you for proving me wrong. Happy Holidays to all of you.

An hour or so into their hike, they found a secluded lake, tucked back into a small valley. Oliver said it was more a pond than a lake, but Felicity decided she liked the sound of “lake” better than “pond”.They found a grassy spot near the water’s edge to sit and eat their sandwiches and Oliver pointed out various breeds of duck swimming by as they ate. 

“You’re just a fount of knowledge,” Felicity mused as she sipped from her water bottle, enjoying teasing him a little. 

“You don’t have the monopoly on smarts in this relationship,” he replied with a wink, making her laugh. 

The sun was hot on them as they finished up their lunch and Felicity could feel sweat trickling down her back, under her tank top. When Oliver suggested they start heading back, Felicity whined. 

“It’s so _hot_ though.”She eyed the lake speculatively. “How cold do you imagine that lake is?”

The look that came into Oliver’s eyes could only be described as warning. “This _pond_ is stream fed, Felicity. Streams that exist because of snow melt runoff.Its _cold_.” 

“I bet it would feel heavenly though,” she said, biting on her lip. 

“Felicity…” He was focused on her mouth. 

“I’m dying, Oliver. I’m overheating.”Felicity fanned herself for effect.

“You grew up in Vegas!” 

“Yeah, but I spent all those years in Massachusetts, then I’ve basically become a born-again Starling City resident. My body isn’t used to it.”

“You don’t have a swim suit,” Oliver pointed out as Felicity started to take off her boots. 

“Is there anyone else around here?” She tucked her socks into her boots and set them aside.

“No…?” 

“Then I don’t need one,” she said with a wink.Oliver gaped at her as she started to shimmy out of her shorts. 

“Felicity!”

Felicity kicked aside her shorts and pulled off her tank top.Without another look at Oliver, she tossed her sunglasses onto the small pile of clothes she’d left and strode towards the water wearing only her underwear and bra.As she stepped in, she had to admit that the water was bracingly cold. But it felt fantastic, she thought.In for a penny, in for a pound. 

She strode in until it was up to her waist and then dove forwards, submerging herself entirely. It was… pretty damn cold. Not that she would let Oliver see that.At this point, it wasn’t even just about cooling off (though… _mission accomplished_ ), it was about proving it to him that she wanted to go in, regardless of the temperature and his sputtering protestations.Plus, maybe she wanted to heat his blood up a little.She was so ready for that bond. 

Felicity broke the surface and looked back at Oliver, ready to quip something snarky at him. She was surprised, then, to see him peeling off his own cargo shorts and t-shirt, his boots already off.Her words died on her tongue as she watched him stride in his boxer briefs down to the water’s edge and in, without barely flinching.The sun glinted off his toned body and suddenly, being cold wasn’t remotely a problem. 

Felicity paddled over to him as he came closer and then she stood, walking right up to him. “I didn’t think you could take it,” she said. 

“Oh, I can take it. I just didn’t think you could,” he admitted, bringing his hands up to cup her shoulders. 

“I’m tougher than I look, Mr. Queen.”

“I think I’m figuring that out.”

He bent his head and she pressed up on her toes to meet his kiss. He pressed his tongue into her mouth first thing, ratcheting up her desire in an instant.Felicity flung her arms around his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he kissed her hard and with clear intent.His own hands weren’t idle, one sliding down her side and grabbing at her underwear-covered ass.He gripped one of her cheeks in his enormous hand, squeezing hard and making her gasp and rise up even further on her toes until she was pressed tightly against him, feeling his hardening cock pressing into her abdomen. 

Nice to see that the cold water wasn’t affecting his equipment too much, she thought, before his tongue stroked into her mouth again and obliterated all sense. 

Oliver was an amazing kisser.His lips were the perfect combination of soft and firm.His stubble rubbed at her cheeks and chin and she just knew that her face would be red and irritated later but she couldn’t care as the scraping created a delicious burn that traveled all the way down to her core. 

She’d learned already that once his lips left hers, however, was when the real fun began.Because Oliver knew exactly where on her neck to concentrate his assault in order to turn her knees to jelly. Which is what he was doing right in that moment, one hand still on her ass and the other banded around her back, holding her against him. All she could do was moan and rock her hips against his. 

Oliver pulled away, his pupils blown and his mouth hanging open. The desire was clear in his eyes. “Felicity…”

“Yeah?” she asked, feeling more than a little dazed herself. 

“I think we’re done getting to know each other.” 

Heat pushed through her until she was certain she was warming the lake waters around them. “Oliver…”

“D—do you think you’re ready?”

“I’m so ready, it’s not even funny,” she told him lowly. 

His eyes flashed and Felicity could have sworn that he growled.“Then what are we doing _here_?” 

Felicity grinned. “Good question.” 

She stepped back from him and took his hand, leading him to the shore.Oliver followed along after her very willingly.They both got dressed quickly, not caring if they got their clothes wet. It’d keep them cool on the hike back to the cabin. And the interest in keeping cool was the only thing that was going to stop them from jumping each other on the trail. 

Felicity was definitely ready.She hadn’t been being glib to Oliver in the lake. She knew Oliver was her soulmate and while this was a huge step and it was a _forever_ type of huge… she couldn’t imagine her life taking any other turn besides this. She was happy enough to oblige him this week, to take their time and settle into it, but if anything it just reaffirmed what she already knew from the moment she’d accepted their bond: they were made for each other. Everything felt perfect because it _was_ perfect. 

Of course they’d squabble; that’s what couples did. More than that, it’s what she and Oliver did. But she also knew that the bond they would share and the love they already had for each other would help see them through anything that would come their way. 

So yes, Felicity was more than ready. 

***

They made it back to the cabin in record time. Oliver had taken the lead, his hand wrapped around hers and walked with intent and purpose. Felicity had almost had to trot to keep up with his long strides. His impatience was rolling off him in waves and to Felicity, that was pretty damn attractive.She couldn’t wait to have him inside her again either. 

As soon as they reached the cabin, Felicity hurried on ahead of Oliver to the bedroom.He was right behind her, hot on her heels. Felicity squeaked a bit when she glanced over her shoulder and saw him right there, his eyes burning and she darted into the room, turning only when she reached the edge of the bed. 

Oliver reached for her but she held up a hand.“Wait… I want to…” She trailed off and then showed him what she meant. She sat down and removed her boots, kicking them aside. Then she stood again and started to peel off her clothes.They’d mostly dried on the quick walk back down the mountain but her shorts clung to her.Oliver watched her, his eyes impossibly dark, as she stripped herself for him. 

It was sort of symbolic, in a way. She was baring herself to him, giving him all of her, even the parts she never showed anyone else.It was humbling and important and so very, very real. 

The only sound in the room was their breaths, heavy and rapid. 

She finished with her bra and underwear, slowly drawing both garments off and throwing them aside, leaving her standing before him, completely bare.Only then did Oliver step up to her again.He reached up and pulled the elastic holding her hair into a ponytail out so that her drying hair fell over her shoulders. 

“You’re amazing,” he told her, his voice husky. 

“So are you.”

“I mean you look… you look incredible. I can’t believe I’m this lucky,” he whispered. 

“We both are.”She rubbed her hands over his slightly damp t-shirt, aching to feel the muscles beneath. 

He stepped back then and started to remove his own clothes, just like she’d done for him.Felicity sat on the edge of the bed, eager to fill her gaze with him.Oliver had the most amazing physique she’d ever seen on anyone, man or woman.He looked, quite frankly, as though he was chiseled out of marble. As though he belonged in a museum. But she knew that he could be soft, especially inside. 

Felicity chewed her lip as he got down to his boxer briefs and his fingers toyed with the waistband coyly.He shifted and she knew he wasn’t shy, he was just making sure he had her full attention.And boy did he.

He could be such a preening show pony sometimes.

Oliver drew the boxer briefs down, revealing himself to her again. Felicity had to fight the whimper that wanted to escape her throat. She hadn’t exactly _forgotten_ just how well Oliver was endowed but her memories of those two days together were certainly hazy and she might not have remembered quite as vividly some of the more lurid details. But she was reminded right then: Oliver Queen was _blessed_. 

And so was she, in having him as a soulmate. 

Felicity crooked a finger at him, beckoning him forward. As he came towards her, deliberate swagger in his step, Felicity scooted back until she was laying across the middle of the enormous bed.She propped herself up on her elbows, watching rapt as Oliver crawled onto the bed over her, like he was a jungle cat.He pressed kisses into her flesh as he moved up but then he stopped.He moved backwards, off the bed and Felicity was about to ask him what he was doing when he gripped her hips in his hands and pulled her with him. 

She got the picture soon enough. Oliver knelt on the floor, pulling her until her ass was just hanging over the edge of the bed, putting her core directly in line with his face. She made a noise, which made him look at her with a cocky grin. 

“Are you ready, Ms. Smoak?”

“God, I hope so,” she breathed.They hadn’t done _this_ during their two days.It’d crossed her mind a time or two to request it but then he’d just distracted her with other brilliant things and, frankly, having him inside her during her heat had been something of a priority for both of them. 

She watched him as he kissed along the insides of her thighs, spreading her, before settling down on to his haunches to press lingering kisses along her outer lips.His scruff scratched at her sensitive skin, sending shivers up and down her spine.Oliver seemed to be acquainting himself with her body, lingering in certain spots that made her shiver and avoiding other spots where she yearned for more attention. He was teasing her, building her arousal like he was building a work of art. 

Then, he brought his tongue and fingers into play.With his breath hot on her flesh, he stroked along the outer lips before pulling them apart, exposing where she was already dripping wet for him.Felicity arched her back, almost unable to bear the tension of waiting for his touch. His finger gently dipped into her entrance for a moment, swirling around and gathering the moisture there. 

“So fucking wet,” he said with a groan, drawing the finger into his mouth and sucking it clean.“And goddamn delicious too.”

Then, and only then, did he bend forward and get down to business. Felicity cried out the instant his tongue touched her. He licked around her entrance before drawing his tongue up to her clit which was positively aching for attention.He gave the hardened nub a small flick of his tongue, barely anything, and Felicity’s hips flew up as she yelped. 

Chuckling, Oliver pushed her down to the bed again with his other hand as he moved his mouth down to where her walls were already clenching for him. Felicity arched her back, pushing her hips against his restraining hand as he fucked his tongue in and out of her. She almost felt like she was in heat again. The flames of arousal were consuming her, burning her from the inside out until she was crying out into the quiet of the room. 

“Oliver!Ah!Right there…!” she gasped as he replaced his tongue with his thumb and focused the tip of his tongue on her clit. He flicked in time with the small thrusts she was able to make with her hips. 

Oliver took his time; working her up to the edge, holding her there, easing her back… then he would repeat the process.Felicity could feel the sweat standing out on her face and chest as she panted for release. 

“Please!Oliver… oh, god…”

She could feel him smirking against her thigh for a moment and if she’d not been nearly wild with need at the moment, she might have cuffed him on the head.As it was, all she could focus on was needing more to push her over that delicious edge. 

Oliver could read her like an open book, apparently, and he saw that she was needing one final push over into release. He plunged two fingers into her clenching channel, curling them upwards so he could rub against a spot inside of her that made her see stars behind her eyelids. He sucked her clit between his lips at the same moment and Felicity shouted out her release, feeling the warm gush of it, feeling Oliver lapping at her as she came all over his face. 

It took her a moment to come back to her senses, but once she did, Felicity felt a wave of embarrassment at how she’d just let herself go like that. She propped up on her elbows again, an apology already on her lips but Oliver was already up and leaning over her, brushing his lips against hers. She could taste herself and…wow.That was _so hot_.

“That was amazing,” he told her, his voice low.“You looked like a goddess and you tasted like heaven.”

“That’s… almost cheesy, Oliver But considering I’m still buzzing here, I’ll let it go,” Felicity mumbled breathlessly, dropping back down onto the bed in a boneless heap.Oliver chuckled. 

He moved up the bed, bringing her with him until he was reclined on his side next to her, trailing a finger along her chest, circling her breasts, teasing her nerves back to life with a gentle touch. Felicity closed her eyes and just let herself bask in it, this one perfect moment where she was sated and filled with pleasure and peace. 

Soon, his lips joined his finger as he bent over her, pressing kisses into her skin, rubbing his scruff into her soft places and she found herself moaning, her arousal already starting to burn again. 

“Are you ready?” he asked her quietly, drawing back. 

“I’m always ready for you,” she replied, reaching up to cup his face with her hand.His eyes softened and he bent to kiss her again. He kissed her so sweetly, so tenderly, that she felt tears spring up behind her eyelids. 

He touched her just as gently, his hands coasting over her body, worshipping her, inflaming her growing arousal.Felicity didn’t think it was possible to need him again so soon but as he palmed her hip, his fingers pressing under her, around the curve of her ass, Felicity could feel her body yearning towards his yet again.Impossible. Insatiable. 

Oliver moved over her with such grace that it was easy to forget that he was a big man carrying a lot of heavy muscle. Felicity opened her legs, cradling his hips against hers as he settled over her, still kissing her, stroking his tongue along hers. 

He shifted his body and she could feel him, hot and hard, against her thigh. Felicity reached down between them and took hold of him in her hand, feeling him, relearning the beauty that was this man’s body.He was large, that was true, but it wasn’t just his size. Her fingers stroked over his length, admiring the velvety soft skin there that encased such raw, natural power. Oliver groaned, his lips dropping from hers as he buried his face in her neck. But he let her feel and explore him.She could tell that he was struggling for control, however, in the way that his hips started to rock against her hand, initiating a friction that they both desired. 

“Felicity,” he moaned. “Baby, I need to be inside you.”

She understood that feeling completely. “Please…”

His hand replaced hers and he moved over her, his cock slipping inside her, pushing inch by inch until he was completely seated. His hips pressed to hers and Felicity took a moment, gasping a little into the hot flesh of his shoulder, as she adjusted to the delicious stretch. 

Quite unconsciously, she started to reach out with her mind. Like when she’d been held by Shaw, Felicity took her emotions, she took that connection she’d felt to Oliver when she’d been in danger and tried to find it again, as he was starting to slowly move inside of her. 

It took a moment but then she felt him reach back for her and her eyes flew open at the unfamiliar but completely perfect feeling. Oliver lifted his head, meeting her gaze and she could see the same realization she felt mirrored in his eyes. He felt it too.She felt his emotions… desire, love, happiness… wrap around hers and she welcomed his mind like she was welcoming his body. 

They kept their eyes on one another as they moved together, perfectly in sync. Felicity was aware of every push and pull of his cock as he stroked inside of her. He moved faster; his flesh slapping against hers and the erotic sound that echoed through the room made her burn brighter.It _was_ just like her heat, but _more_. Instead of fearing she would burn up in an inferno, she felt like she was a phoenix, being born again in the fire.

They were locked on to one another, moving together, holding on for dear life… it was the most spiritual moment of her life. Everything made sense in that moment; how she’d first met Oliver that day in the IT Department at Queen Consolidated… how he’d kept coming to her for help… how he’d ended up in the back of her car, bleeding to death… how she’d gone to Lian Yu to bring him back home to his family… how they’d both spent so much time saving the city and saving each other. 

_This_ was why.This moment, this connection.This _bond_. 

Felicity’s orgasm rained over her at the very time that she felt Oliver tense above her, his cock throbbing within her walls as he stilled his hips. The waves of pleasure seemed to break over her repeatedly, on and on until it seemed impossible. All Felicity could do was cling to Oliver and ride out the tide of bliss and she felt him holding her just as tightly. 

***

They both dozed, after that.They were both so physically, mentally and emotionally spent that there was nothing to do but escape into oblivion while wrapped in each other’s embrace.When Felicity woke, the sun was starting to set, casting long shadows around the bedroom. Oliver was curled around her, his nose buried in the back of her neck, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him. She could feel his heartbeat behind her, strong and steady. 

He woke moments after she did but neither of them was very interested in moving too far.Instead, he peppered little kisses along the back of her neck, making her sigh. 

“I had no idea you’d be this affectionate,” Felicity murmured, playing with the hairs on the back of his forearm. 

“I always was… before the island. My mother used to love it when I was little and would cuddle with her on the sofa while watching movies.She said it was our special time together. Tommy once called me a ‘mommy’s boy’ and I gave him a black eye for it,” he told her. 

Felicity laughed at that. “So what you’re saying is that I’ve unlocked the Oliver Queen that you used to be.”

“What I’m saying is that you’ve unlocked the me that I never thought I could be again.” He pressed a firm kiss to her shoulder.“Thank you.”

It was humbling to know that she meant that much to another person. The knowledge was made easier by the fact that he meant just as much to her.He’d changed her life for the better, given her meaning where there had been none. Given her a greater purpose. Felicity would always be grateful for that. 

“So where do we go from here?” Felicity asked after a long quiet moment. 

“I’m assuming you mean beyond ‘back to Starling’?”

“Yes. I mean, we’re… bonded now.Does this mean you’re going to move in to my apartment?”

Oliver chuckled softly. “Unless you want to move into the foundry with me.”

Felicity thought of all the rats and dripping water and that _smell_ that never quite went away no matter how much Febreeze she used. “Yeah, no.My apartment it is then.And what do we tell John and Roy?”

“Hmm.The truth.”

“The _whole_ truth?Does John know I’m an Omega?”

“He does. He said ‘that makes sense’, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Roy doesn’t though. Its up to you if you want to tell him.”

Felicity shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter either way. So do we tell them we’re bonded? Will they even believe that?”

“We could just tell them that we’re _together_. Keep it simple.”

Together.Felicity liked the sound of that. “Okay, it’s a deal.”

“And I’ve been thinking…”

“Oh?”

“Now that my personal life has taken this shift and my family has… grown… maybe it’s a good time to working on getting my family’s company back.”

Felicity beamed. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

“I’ve put it off, not sure if I was up to the task. But, I think with your help, I stand a chance.”

“You stand more than a chance.We will get that company back and restore your family’s legacy.”

“Only if you agree to run it.” 

Felicity flipped over so she was facing Oliver and found him watching her, a soft, amused expression on his face.But nothing to indicate that he was joking. “What?”

“You heard me.I want you to be the CEO of Queen Consolidated.”

“But… Oliver! I’ve never been… I didn’t go to business school or—“

“Neither did I. And let’s face it, you’re _much_ smarter than I am.”

“The board will never go for it.”

“The board will only have to meet you to understand you’re the best choice to lead this company.”

“But Oliver it’s _your_ company, your family…”

“And you are my family now, Felicity.It’s your company too.”

Well. That certainly shut her up. Oliver just smiled at her and leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips.“Don’t worry. I will be around in whatever capacity you need me. But I have every confidence that this is something you will excel at.”

His faith in her made her feel warm all over. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had that from anyone in her life before she’d met Oliver.Her mother loved her, to be sure, but she’d never really understood Felicity’s ambition or goals. 

“I love you,” she murmured. 

“I love you, too.”He kissed her again, and this time, Felicity let herself sink into the comfort of his embrace. 

***

E P I L O G U E

They returned to Starling the next day, feeling lighter and easier than they had when they’d left it the week before. Oliver moved into Felicity’s apartment right away and Felicity found that she enjoyed sharing the space with him rather than feeling cramped and intruded upon.She _wanted_ Oliver there, and he wanted to be there.Nothing beat falling asleep together and waking up in each other’s arms. 

They told Dig and Roy about their new relationship status at the same time. Dig had smiled and said, “Finally!”.Roy had just smirked and said, “I knew it.”Apparently, the two of them had been fooling _no one_. 

Oliver sent Thea a post card, letting her know how things were going and mentioning how he was living with Felicity now. There wasn’t any reply and Felicity hated to see how that made Oliver worry.She decided to put some extra time in on finding exactly where Thea was at. Vacationing in Europe had always sounded off to her, especially since that was the excuse Oliver had given everyone when he’d run away after the Undertaking. 

She was able to track the younger Queen down to Corto Maltese and she and Oliver made the trip down there to talk her into coming home. It was there they learned she’d been with her biological father, Malcolm Merlyn, for the last several months. Thea was reluctant to return with Oliver, given how she’d been lied to by him and their mother, but after he opened up to her, shared with her what he was doing and how he was the Arrow, Thea reevaluated and decided her place was with her brother. Felicity was thrilled for it, especially when she saw the look of relief on Oliver’s face when Thea met them at the airport the day they flew back home. 

When they weren’t busy with Arrow work (and the streets were relatively quiet since Shaw’s capture), Felicity helped Oliver develop his pitch to the board. He was one hundred percent serious about winning his company back.While the long hours grated on both of their nerves and lead to a few mild spats between them, the aggravation paid off in the end. 

Oliver went before the board at their next quarterly meeting and blew them all away with his presentation.It was both technical _and_ personal, a perfect balance of the two and Oliver impressed on everyone present that rebuilding his family’s company was a big priority to him. He also presented Felicity as his choice for CEO which caused more than a few raised brows but those expressions changed to ones of admiration as he listed off her qualifications. Then, Felicity stood up and spoke a little about herself, about her dedication towards building QC’s Applied Sciences department and her vision for the future. 

After that, there was only one other bidder for the company, a man by the name of Ray Palmer who already own a successful conglomerate. He gave a good presentation as well, but it paled in comparison to Oliver’s and the board voted unanimously to restore the company to the Queen family. Oliver’s happy smile had told the story and the whole team went out that night for celebratory margaritas. 

Life got hectic after that, as life often does once you think things are ready to settle down into a new normal.Thea joined the team (codename: Speedy, of course), with Oliver and Roy helping round out the training her father had begun to give her.Malcolm tried to lure Thea back, but thankfully she had the support of her brother and her found-family to remind her that she didn’t need Merlyn’s toxic presence in her life.Roy and Thea eventually came back together as she helped him deal with the aftermath of remembering he’d killed a police officer during his Mirakuru madness. 

Thea reopened the Verdant nightclub and it was an even bigger success than before.She and Roy ran the joint together and Verdant quickly became the biggest hot spot in town for anyone who wanted a good party.Things went so well that she started toying with opening up a location in Central City as well.

Six months after the heat that had brought them together, Oliver proposed to Felicity.It was near Christmas, and he got down on one knee and presented her with his mother’s old ring.Felicity was crying and nodding as Oliver slipped the ring onto her finger. She’d never been happier in her life.Oliver was a little exasperated, however, when he found out the team had taken bets on when he would propose. It turned out that Roy won the pot. 

After yet another mayor was slain in an attack on the city, Oliver decided to run. He figured that he was the only person who could reasonably protect himself and he had a vested interest in making the city a better place.Felicity couldn’t argue with that, though she did worry for his safety.Oliver ran uncontested and was easily elected, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have to work hard to effect real change in the city. The surprising thing for both of them, was how much Oliver enjoyed the work. 

It wasn’t easy being a power couple by day, heroes by night. They had their rough patches, they had their close calls, and they had their devastating losses.But through it all, Oliver and Felicity were together. A team within a team.And together, they became a beacon of hope for the city they loved. 


	10. See Me In Hindsight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have a look at several cut-scenes from "Burning It Down" from Oliver's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to tack this one on to the existing story. I felt too lazy this morning to start up a new story just for this. I hope you like it. It's a bit of a long piece, but I think it's worth the look. Maybe it'll help you see what was going through our boy's thick skull during several key moments in the story. 
> 
> Again, thank you to EVERYONE who has read and supported this story. All the feedback on Twitter has been lovely as well. You guys are the best! Happy Holidays!

Oliver couldn’t sleep. Felicity had fallen quickly and deeply to sleep hours ago, after their latest round. She’d clearly worn herself out and was getting some much needed rest. But it was obvious to Oliver that her heat was coming to an end.

Something about that last time, with her riding him, had felt so final. It felt like she’d finally burned herself out. The orgasm had been more soul-shattering than any he’d probably ever had, which was saying quite a bit, considering his extensive experience. 

Over the years, Oliver had had plenty of sex with plenty of different women, meaning he’d had a lot of variety. For some, he was in relationships with the woman: Laurel, Helena, McKenna, Shado… and others he wasn’t. There’d been a lot of random Omegas, over the years. He’d had plenty of heat-sex with those Omegas as well. He knew what the end of a heat cycle felt like, as a result. He knew how an Omega burned herself out. And it had been eight hours since her last “episode”. 

Before, the most she’d gone between flare-ups was about six hours. Now, she slept in his arms peacefully, no sign of waking. If she was still in her heat, she would at least be squirming by now. The heat wouldn’t be _letting_ her sleep. 

Oliver didn’t know what to do with his feelings about that. Or, for that matter, his feelings about the last two days. That he had a pang in his chest over their interlude being over was something Oliver couldn’t have predicted when he first walked into this sanctuary with Felicity. 

Though how he could have missed the turn all of this took just showed the extent of how much he’d been deluding himself. He knew he had feelings for Felicity. He’d known, and had purposefully avoided, that he had those growing feelings ever since that stomach dropping moment in Moscow when Felicity caught Isabel coming out of his hotel room. 

What on earth had made him think that he could have a couple days of no-strings-attached sex with the woman he was in love with without those feelings deepening? Now, he only wanted _more_. The prospect of having to go back to working together and pretending that he didn’t know the sounds she made when she came around his cock was unthinkable. How could he look at her and not remember everything that had happened here?Worse yet, how could he continue to be her friend and never be able to make love to her again?

_Make love_.Couldn’t he even just write this off as fucking?How goddamn sappy could he get?

Shit, the last time he ever even considered thinking of sex as “making love” was back when he was trying to be a decent boyfriend to Laurel. That was eons ago and he’d been a different person back then. He’d been naive and careless and Oliver doubted he’d even known what _love_ really was back then. Since those days, he’d fucked, but he’d never _made love_. 

He’d gone into this whole thing with Felicity with two clear intentions: help her out and keep it at fucking. The first motivation had shady enough intentions as it was: he wanted to help her in large part so that she wouldn’t need to have _someone else_ help her. When Joy down at check in had suggested calling someone up, Oliver had felt like he’d lost five years off his lifespan. 

In reality, he knew when a heat got as far gone as Felicity’s had been, that calling in an Alpha was no big deal. These places did that all the time and the Omega and the Alpha in those scenarios were entirely willing and consenting. As an Alpha himself, Oliver knew that most others like him would view it as taking care of an Omega, and find pride and satisfaction in that.Even with a relatively anonymous relationship, the drive an Alpha felt to take care of Omegas was strong. He felt the unyielding tug of that protectiveness in their hunt to bring Duncan Shaw to justice. The man was victimizing Omegas and the Alpha in him couldn’t tolerate it. 

So why couldn’t he tolerate another Alpha taking care of Felicity? It wasn’t as though he had any particular claim on Felicity, in fact, he had spent the whole last year avoiding any such claim. Of course, he hadn’t known she was an Omega until two days ago… 

And that was another thing. He hadn’t _known_. Would it have changed his mind about keeping her at arms length if he had?Oliver wasn’t so sure. He’d already felt hugely protective of Felicity, from the moment he met her, even believing she was a Beta. There was just… something about her. Biology aside, Felicity was important to him. And his reasons for not pursuing a relationship with her were still the same. 

Except now he’d gone and stuck his foot in it.He’d fucked her… he’d _made love_ to her. She’d been hesitant, even in the fever of her heat, to take this step with him because she’d _known_.She didn’t want to ruin their friendship and he’d told her to _trust_ him. Like an idiot, he’d told her whatever she needed to hear in order to have her. Because as much as he was helping her, he’d been helping himself. 

Fucking selfish. 

He’d done exactly what he’d promised her he wouldn’t do. He’d ruined their friendship because he couldn’t bear the thought of any other Alpha being with her during her heat. Once she woke up and realized she was no longer in heat, the reality would set in and she’d be so hurt, so upset with him.Oliver didn’t know if he could bear that. 

The best option he had, he felt, was to make it easier for her this morning. She’d made it clear that she wanted to maintain their friendship, which told him she was not interested in taking things between them any further. At least not until he was able to make her some sort of promise. And Oliver… Well, he just wasn’t there yet. He wasn’t the sort of man who could give a woman any kind of life she deserved. He had his mission to save the city and that was it. He had to be content to just have the love of his life working at his side.

Oliver looked towards the window, to where the sun was starting to rise and slant through the curtains.It was early still, but since Felicity had been asleep for nearly nine hours, he knew she’d be waking soon. As much as he wanted to stay there, hold her, make her promises he couldn’t keep… Oliver knew it would be best to maintain some distance.For both their sakes. 

With that thought in mind, he slipped out from underneath her embrace and shuffled off into the bathroom to take a shower. 

***

When Oliver met Dig for coffee after leaving Felicity at the Sanctuary, the other man clearly had many questions about just where he’d been, where Felicity had been and what the hell was going on. Oliver put him off, still feeling emotionally raw from the whole experience and not wanting to relive it. He said that Felicity had been not feeling well and he’d been out of town, dealing with some loose ends from his mother’s estate. 

Dig hadn’t bought it and Oliver hadn’t really expected him to, but he’d let the matter drop.Now, two days later, and Felicity was back at the foundry and he and Dig and Roy were out on patrol.Roy took the south-side of the Glades, preferring to be on his own, while Oliver and Dig covered the north-side.In retrospect, Oliver should have had Dig go patrol the east-side so he’d leave him alone. 

“So, are you going to tell me what’s up with you and Felicity?” Dig asked. Oliver quickly double-checked that their comms were turned off before huffing out a sigh. 

“Nothing’s up.We’re fine.”

“Nope. The tension in there was thick enough to cut with a knife before we left. You would barely look at her.What happened?”

“We…” Oliver’s mind raced to find some sort of story he could give Dig. He hated lying to his best friend but this wasn’t something he could just tell the other man. Felicity was like a sister to him.Besides this being her private business, Oliver wasn’t so sure that Dig wouldn’t punch him square in the jaw once he heard what Oliver had done. “We had an argument.I said some stupid things, she hasn’t forgiven me yet. That’s all.” It was close enough to the actual truth. 

Dig looked unconvinced but after a moment of studying his face, he nodded. “Okay. I can buy that. But whatever it is you said, you need to apologize.”

“Felicity just needs some time, this’ll blow over.”

“Nuh uh.Because I’m not going to have to suffer this tension in the foundry. You’re going to apologize to her and that’s going to be that.Clear?”

“Dig, stay out of it,” Oliver growled, irritated now. 

“I’d be perfectly happy to stay out of it if this type of shit didn’t involve me too. When we get back there tonight, I want you to fix it.”

Oliver grumbled. 

“Was that a yes?”

“Yes.Fine, yes. Why are you being such an overbearing prick tonight?” 

Diggle chuckled and clapped Oliver on the back. “Because. It’s my turn this week.”

***

_CRACK!_

Oliver growled in frustration as he broke another stick against the training dummy.That was the fourth one in two days. Whoever they’d gotten these sticks from was a shoddy supplier. This wood was supposed to be difficult to snap. 

“Oliver, if you don’t let up on that training dummy, I’m going to have to stage an intervention,” Dig remarked.He was doing his own training drills on the other side of the mat and had paused when he heard the snap. 

“I’m not doing anything different than I usually do, Dig,” Oliver bit out, tossing the broken stick aside and proceeding to pummel the dummy with his wrapped fists. His chest felt like it was on fire but he pushed into the pain, letting that ache consume him as he threw a series of perfectly executed punches. 

“If you’re trying to tell me that you don’t have some major issue involving Felicity eating at you right now, then you can just think again.I’m not stupid, Oliver.”

Oliver paused and looked over at Dig. The other man raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you don’t?First, you two disappeared for a couple days after we lost Shaw and then we had what was probably the most awkward week of my life. Then Felicity leaves and now you’re acting like a bear with a thorn in his paw. What gives, Oliver?”

“Nothing gives, Diggle. I just have some things on my mind.”

“Yeah and one of those things is Felciity, so spill.I know what you told me about the time you guys were gone but we all know that was a bunch of bologna. I let it slide then, but we’re done doing that. You’re going to tell me what the hell is going on, and you’re going to tell me _now_.”

Diggle met his eye and wouldn’t back down. Oliver blew out a breath, knowing when he was beat.Was there nothing he could hide from this man?His chest throbbed and as used to the ever-present ache as he’d become in the last week or so, he knew he should listen to his body and lay off the workout for the time being. 

“Fine, but if we’re going to have this talk, I need a drink.”

“Fine by me.”

Diggle followed him over to the old trunk that Oliver still kept that contained his Russian Vodka.Oliver got out a couple glasses and poured them each a healthy serving.He sat in the chair next to the station where he sharpened his arrow heads, purposefully avoiding Felicity’s empty chair.Dig sat there instead, elbows on his knees and glass held in his hands as he fixed Oliver with a stare. 

“What do you want me to say?” Oliver asked peevishly before taking a gulp of his drink. 

“I want you to tell me what happened with you and Felicity that lead to her fleeing town and you doing your best to destroy our only training dummy.”

Oliver winced, swirling the clear liquid in his glass around as he thought about how best to tell Dig about this.He finally settled on the truth. As his best friend and partner, as well as Felicity’s friend and partner, he deserved that much. 

“It started the night we saved Janie but lost Shaw,” Oliver said. “I came back here and Felicity was still here and… she was going into heat.”

Dig’s eyes got as round as saucers. “She _what_?”

“She’s an Omega, John.She’s been on suppressants this whole time… I never knew. But with losing her job at QC and how hectic things had been trying to hunt down Shaw, she hadn’t been taking them and she started going into heat.”

“Holy shit, Oliver,” Dig said, taking a large drink of his vodka and then setting it down so he could rub his hands over his face. 

“Tell me about it. The pheromones coming off her were… well.It’s a good thing I’m as disciplined as I am. I offered to take her to an Omega shelter.Can you believe she wanted to take care of it herself?”

“With the club upstairs crawling with Alphas? One step outside the basement and they would have been all over her!” 

“I know it. Which is what I told her.”Oliver paused and drained the rest of his glass. He was going to need it for what came next. “I walked her in to the shelter, just to make sure she got in okay.She’d never been to one before, never had a heat before… she’s been denying her Omega self her entire adult life.She had no idea what a heat was like.But we found out while checking her in that she was too far gone in her heat for them to stop it.”

“Even with the injections?” Dig asked. Oliver cocked an eyebrow at him, making him shrug. “What, just because I’m a Beta doesn’t mean I don’t know things. Carly is an Omega.”

Ahh… Dig’s ex-sister-in-law and ex, well, everything. “Yeah, even with the injections. So they offered to call in an Alpha for her.”

Dig groaned loudly. “Oh god, I can already see where this is going. Let me guess.You didn’t want them to do that.”

Oliver grit his teeth.“No, I didn’t. It was a dumb fool move on my part. I just… when the lady suggested it I just said no. I couldn’t…”

“Hey,” Dig said and Oliver met his friend’s eye.He was smiling a little sympathetically at him. “I think I get it. I mean, I don’t know what you go through with all that Alpha stuff, obviously. But even being a Beta, if there were something similar with Lyla, I would have reacted the same way.”

“Dig…” Oliver said, feeling his heart lurch.The comparison was perfect and awful all at once.Because Oliver knew that Diggle _loved_ Lyla. 

“So you volunteered yourself for the job,” Diggle supplied, moving on. “What did Felicity think about that?”

“As mindless as she was at that point, she still was hesitant. I got the feeling that she felt like she was imposing on me, instead of the other way around. She told me she didn’t want it to ruin our friendship. I told her that it wouldn’t.I told her to trust me.”

Dig winced. “Oliver… what did you do?”

“I tried to fix it… when her heat had passed. She wanted so badly to maintain how we were before all this and I realized I got a bit carried away so instead of grabbing hold of her and holding on for dear life like I wanted to, I acted casual.”

“Tell me you didn’t.”

“That’s what she wanted, Diggle!” 

“Are you sure? 100% positive? Because the girl who was in here last week looked pretty damn miserable to me,” Dig pointed out. 

“Yes, I’m sure. She made me promise to her that we would come out of it with our friendship still intact. And Dig, that last night we were together, the last thing I was feeling was friendship.”

“And it scared you.”

“Of course it scared me! I made her a promise and I wasn’t about to go back on that. I had to distance myself and make it clear to her that I wasn’t expecting anything from her afterwards!”

Diggle sighed, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. “No, bro, I’m saying that it scared you, what you were feeling for her.”

Oliver shifted uncomfortably. “I know full well how I feel.”

“We all know, with the possible exception of Felicity herself, how you feel. I mean, you were scared because you realized she’s it for you and after taking the step that you two took, there was no going back. ‘Just friendship’ is a myth with you guys, and it always has been.It just so happens that fact finally caught up with you and it scared the hell out of you.”

“What difference does it make what I feel?” Oliver said after a long pause. “She couldn’t get away from me fast enough. All of last week was her trying to avoid being in the same room with me and now she’s gone…” Oliver rubbed at his chest, willing the ache to subside. Instead, it only grew. “She made that choice, Diggle. Not me. She clearly is upset with me and doesn’t want to be around me. I can take the hint.”

“That’s bullshit, man.”

“Excuse me?”

“If you think for one second that Felicity Smoak isn’t in love with you then you’re not the smart man I thought you were.”

Oliver glared at Dig, annoyed. “I know she loves me, but I don’t know if she’s _in love_ with me.”That was it, right there. Oliver knew he was so in love with Felicity that he couldn’t think straight where she was concerned but he had no idea if she returned even half of the feelings. 

“You need to talk to her, man.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen with her being clear down in Vegas, is it?”

“You could go see her.Talk to her. I’ve been in touch with her and—“

Oliver’s head snapped up and he focused on Dig. “What?You’ve talked to her?”

Dig held up a hand. “Mostly texting, but I did speak with her on the phone the other day. I’ve been in touch with her since she left.”

“What has she said? How is she doing? Is she okay?”

Diggle chuckled, shaking his head. “Settle down, loverboy. I hesitate to say she’s _fine_ because… she doesn’t seem like herself.But I trust the time away is doing her some good. I asked her this morning when she was coming home and she said she didn’t know. It sounds like she’s just been hiding out which, you know, isn’t like her.”

No, it wasn’t.Felicity was a do-er, much like he was.Maybe even more so. Sitting in one place for any length of time didn’t sound like her at all.“Have you asked her how she’s feeling?”

Oliver had this strange feeling about the ache in his chest, the tingling in his skin, the pulsing throb of headache that had persisted over the last several days. He wanted to know if she was feeling that too.It was crazy, he knew it was, but he still wondered. He also wondered if she was having any strange dreams. He’d been dreaming a lot about her, sometimes it was almost like he was there in the room with her. He missed her so damn much, it was no small wonder. 

“Why don’t you call and ask her yourself?”

“I can’t.” With how things had been left between them, he wasn’t sure she’d want to talk to him. How had things gone so catastrophically bad?

Just then, his cell phone buzzed with an incoming call. For one breathless moment, Oliver thought it might be Felicity calling. But it was an unknown number.He hesitated but then remembered that this was his personal number and the only people who had that number were people he knew. 

“Hold on a sec, I need to answer this,” he told Dig, getting up from his chair and walking across the foundry. He swiped the screen to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hello, Oliver,” a familiar voice on the other end of the line said. “Long time no talk.”

“McKenna?” He hadn’t spoken to McKenna since a few weeks after her injury, just to check up on how she was settling in down in Coast City with her sister.They’d drifted apart, McKenna had been consumed with her rehab and rather clear about not wanting to continue a relationship between them. 

“The one and only. Listen, I’m in town just for the next day or two. I took a desk job at the police department in Coast City and I’m here picking up some files on a suspect we’re dealing with over there. I thought I’d give you a call and see if maybe you wanted to get a drink or something and catch up.”

“I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore,” he reminded her. 

“Don’t be silly, Oliver. As friends. I have a boyfriend, actually. I can tell you all about him if you want, over drinks.”

It was terrifically bad timing. The last thing Oliver wanted to do was go hang out with some ex-girlfriend, even if it was just as friends. But then he pushed that thought away. That wasn’t like him at all. If nothing else, he and McKenna were still friends and he didn’t want to lose that friendship just because he was in a pissy mood right now. 

“Sorry, McKenna. Sure, drinks sound great. I’m sure we have a lot to catch up on,” he told her.He checked his watch and saw it was getting late. “Dinner, maybe?Or drinks later?” 

“Actually, I have some plans for tonight. But I was thinking maybe we could meet for some Big Belly tomorrow evening. I haven’t had any since moving away and I miss it desperately.”

Oliver smiled, knowing that feeling all too well.“That sounds perfect. You’re right, it has been a long time.”

“Too long.”

“Yes. So shall I meet you there?” he asked. 

“Yes, how about 5 o’clock?”

“Looking forward to it, McKenna.” 

Oliver hung up and looked at his cell a little bit longer.It was just a meal, just a chance to catch up, not a date. The ache in his chest twinged but Oliver knew that it’d do him good to get out of the foundry and do something normal for a change. Smiling, he tucked the phone away in his cargo pants pocket and returned to Diggle. 

“All good?” he asked. 

Oliver nodded. “Yes, just a friend calling to catch up.”

“I need to get home to Lyla, she’s making lasagna tonight.” Dig paused and slanted a look at him. “Why don’t you join us?” 

“Aww… no, I don’t want to impose.”

“Oliver, you’re my best friend.You’re not imposing. Besides, Lyla’s always after me to have you over more often.C’mon.I have beers in the fridge.”

“And the game on the tv?” 

“Of course. What do you say.”

Oliver smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

***

“I’m really glad we got this chance to hang out, McKenna,” Oliver told her earnestly. He’d finished off his burger already and was working on the big basket of fries they were sharing. 

“Me too. Now, are you going to tell me what’s got you doing the brooding thing?” she asked, a playful twinkle in her eye. 

“Brooding thing?”

“Yeah. I’m going to bet it’s a girl.”

“McKenna…”

“C’mon, Oliver. I told you all about Troy, didn’t I? Tell me what’s going on, maybe I can help.”She reached out to touch his hand and Oliver sucked in a breath at the unpleasant surge of feeling that spiked through him. He tamped his reaction down, smiling mildly at her instead. 

Just then, there was a commotion by the registers.He looked up to see what it was and was startled by what he saw. Or, rather, who he saw. 

“Felicity?” 

Oliver couldn’t believe his eyes. The woman who’d consumed his mind for almost two weeks was standing just feet away and she looked, well, she always looked good. But she also looked desperately upset. 

Her eyes met his and he saw the despair and panic in those blue depths.He saw it for a fraction of second before she bolted for the door.His heart plummeting, Oliver worried that Felicity had seen him having dinner with McKenna and gotten the wrong idea. 

He looked over to McKenna, who looked confused. 

“You know that girl?” 

“Yes, she… we work together,” Oliver stammered out.

McKenna’s expression smoothed out and she smiled. “That must be the girl.”

He wanted to explain but… “I’m sorry, McKenna. Can you excuse me?”

“Go get her, Tiger,” she urged him. 

Oliver hurried out of the shop and saw Felicity climbing into her Mini across the parking lot. He called out her name but she gave no indication she’d heard him as she climbed in, backed out of her spot, and pealed out of lot. 

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.He hadn’t even known she was back from Vegas!What was she doing at Big Belly Burger?What had that look he’d seen in her eyes meant?All week long he’d feared that she was upset with him, that she regretted what they’d done but that look in her eye made him think that maybe they were on the same page after all.And she’d seen him with McKenna…

Oliver walked back into the shop to where McKenna was waiting for him.He slipped into the booth, feeling at a total loss. 

“Did you catch her?” she asked, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin. 

“No, she’d already gotten in her car,” he said, trying not to sound too dejected. 

“I’m sorry, Oliver.You said you work together? Maybe you’ll get a chance to talk to her at work?The look on your face tells me you’re in deep, it’s worth a shot.”

“Yeah,” was all he could say. 

“Speaking of work, you haven’t told me what you’re up to these days?”

Oliver made something up about getting Verdant reopened but his heart just wasn’t in it.It had been nice catching up with McKenna after all this time. He was truly glad to hear she was recovering well from her injury, that she was enjoying her desk job because it meant she could still make a difference, that she had friends and a special someone in Coast City. But his thoughts were now completely focused on Felicity and his skin itched to go find her and talk to her. 

“I’m so sorry, McKenna,” Oliver said after a few more minutes of trying to make small talk. “I have to get going. I promised a friend I’d, er… watch the game with him tonight.”

One of her eyebrows went up. “Oh?There’s a game on tonight?” she asked. 

He fought a wince. “Yeah, local team, minor league. He’s a big fan.Listen, why don’t you give me a call the next time you’re in town and drinks are on me?”

“Alright, you’re on.Next time, bring the girl.” She winked at him.

_Oh, if only_. “It was good seeing you, McKenna.”

“You too, Oliver.” 

He hurried out of the shop and to where he’d parked his bike around the building.It took only a minute or two to pull up outside the alley entrance to Verdant.Oliver hoped that Diggle was down in the foundry and that he knew about Felicity being back. 

His feet clattered on the steps as he rushed down them and he was relieved to see Diggle sitting at the computers, watching a news report. Dig whirled around in the swivel seat and his shoulders slumped just a bit when he saw it was Oliver. 

“I was thinking you might be Felicity.She said she’d bring Big Belly Burger tonight and I’m starving,” he explained. That brought Oliver up short. Well. That explained what she’d been doing there.

“Did someone just say Big Belly Burger?” Roy chimed in hopefully from the training mats. 

“I just saw her there.Dig, when did she get back?”

“Earlier today. She stopped in here, actually.”Dig paused and narrowed his eyes at Oliver. “She actually seemed a bit disappointed you weren’t here.Where were you?”

Oliver sighed, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I was out earlier trying to gain some intel from Lance about Shaw. Turns out the police department knows even less about that nutcase than we do. But I thought it was worth a shot.Then, I had some dinner at Big Belly.”

“Oh?So you saw Felicity there, then?Wait… she’d be here by now if that’s the case, right?Big Belly is only a couple blocks away,” Roy said, walking over to them. 

“So she didn’t come here?” Oliver asked, and the disappointment was keen. He’d been hoping that maybe she was back in the bathroom or something. 

Dig shook his head. “No. And she said she’d be by tonight. I told her about our operation to move on where we thought Shaw has been holed up and she wanted to be a part of it.”

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon, then,” Oliver said, not feeling even remotely sure.His skin felt like it wanted to crawl off his body but he forced himself to focus on the operation as he, Roy and Dig went over the particulars again, planning where to go.The uneasy feeling followed Oliver as he suited up and he’d just zipped up his jacket when he made a decision.

“I’m going to call her phone, see what’s holding her up,” Oliver announced. Dig, who was check his guns before holstering them, nodded. 

Oliver tapped on Felicity’s ID and held the phone to his hear, listening to the line ringing. But she didn’t pick up.His heart began to knock painfully in his already aching chest. 

“She’s not answering,” he said as the voicemail picked up.He tucked his phone away and looked to his partners who were watching him, worried expressions clear on their faces.Oliver knew what he had to do. “I’m going to go over to her place.Make sure she’s okay.” 

Oliver expected his partner to argue with him but instead Dig nodded.“Good idea, man.Roy and I will head to the location, but we won’t move until you’re back with us. We have the comms on, just let us know when you see her.”

“Will do.”

Oliver hurried out to his bike, slinging his bow onto the frame before revving the engine to life and shooting out onto the street. He barely had a thought as he raced towards Felicity’s apartment, the feeling of dread growing as he drew nearer.It wasn’t like her not to answer her phone. It wasn’t like her to say she’d be by the foundry and then not show up. 

He parked at the curb and dropped his helmet on the seat before hurrying up to her door.It was closed but unlocked; also unusual for her. Felicity locked the door when it was just her inside, not to mention when she was out.He stepped inside and his chest felt like it would explode with pain at what he saw. 

There were signs of a struggle.A shattered wine glass in the kitchen, a framed picture, fallen to the floor and also shattered.Oliver felt like his heart was in his throat. He activated his comm. 

“Dig!”

“Did you find her?”

“No.She was taken.”

“Shit!” That was Roy. 

“Shaw?” Dig’s voice was all business now. 

“That’s my guess. There some signs of a struggle here but no other clues, a lot like his other abduction scenes.”

“We’re nearing the location now, are you on your way?”

“Yep.”

Oliver strode out of the apartment, grabbing Felicity’s keys from where she’d tossed them on his way out and locking the door behind him.He hurried to his bike, got his helmet on and set off towards the Glades. 

As he sped through the streets, Oliver felt something, almost like an offhand thought. It felt like despair. 

_Felicity_.

He didn’t know where that thought came from.Or why he felt so sure that was her. It was just the first thing that came to his mind, the first and most natural instinct. The despair was so thick and palpable and unfamiliar to anything he was currently feeling… and thought it seemed absolutely crazy, if he was sensing her feelings that meant that the suspicion he’d been having all week long was looking more and more likely.Which meant that he _had_ to get to her.If Shaw had her, she didn’t have a lot of time. 

Oliver pushed his own emotions out, hoping that she could feel him the way he could feel her. If what his grandparents had told him all those years ago was true, it was _possible_ , and it was the best chance she had right now. 

It almost felt like she’d recognized him when another fresh wave of feelings cascaded over him.He noticed that the feelings grew stronger as he grew closer to the Glades.Maybe he could follow those feelings and find where she was. 

Sure enough, as he continued towards where he knew Dig and Roy were waiting for him, the feelings grew more distant again.Oliver doubled back, relieved when the feelings intensified again.When he was sure, he reengaged the comms. 

“Dig, change of plans.Do you have a tracker on me?”

“Yep.”

“Follow it. I know how to find Felicity.”

“Got it.”

One thought dominated Oliver’s thoughts as he pushed his Ducati further into the Glades, further towards where he could feel those ghost feelings growing stronger: _find her, save her_. 

***

Oliver’s fingers twitched with the need to be holding Felicity. She was in the foundry bathroom, getting changed into the clothes he’d given her. He could hear the water running, telling him that she was taking a shower. He couldn’t blame her, after what that monster Shaw had done to her, what he’d _threatened_ to do to her… 

Oliver grit his jaw. He still wished he’d killed that son of a bitch. He knew why Felicity had stopped him, but his blood still called for that retribution on a very primal level. His biology was demanding it…

The foundry door beeped and clanged open, signaling Roy and Dig’s return. Oliver took a few deep breaths to calm and steady himself. 

“How’d it go?” he asked them, watching as Roy hung up his bow and Dig stored his guns away. 

“We hung back until the cops showed up. Watched as they loaded the asshole into the back of a squad car. Lance was there, he looked pleased. He knew it was us.”

Oliver nodded.“Good.Can one of you send in the anonymous tip that the girl he’d had ran away?”

“I’ll do it,” Roy offered, stepping away with his phone to call in the tip.

“How is she?” Dig asked nodding towards the bathroom where the water had just shut off. 

Oliver sighed. “She’s actually doing really well, all things considered. A little shocky. But no permanent damage, thank god.”

“And you?”

“Scared shitless, Dig,” Oliver admitted. 

Diggle nodded. “She needs you, man. You need to pull yourself together for her. She needs you to be strong right now.”

“Yeah…”

“I’m not asking what happened before, how you were able to find where she was. I don’t think I want to know.”

Oliver smiled at that. “No, I don’t think you do.”

“But I’m glad for it, whatever it was. It saved her life.”

Oliver knew it. He wasn’t totally sure what it was either, but given what he’d already begun to suspect about their connection, he thought it might have something to do with soulmates. His grandparents had been soulmates and he wished more than anything they were still around so he could ask them questions. Why hadn’t he asked more questions when he was younger and still could?Why had he written off the stories they’d told him as foolish fantasy?

He knew the reason was because he’d never expected to find his own soulmate. 

The thought that Felicity could be, and most likely _was_ , his soulmate… the possibility rocked him to his core. He’d always known she was special to him. And, for the last year, he’d known he was in love with her.If she was his soulmate, it made perfect sense, in a way. It was more than he deserved. And she deserved more than him. But there was no denying this connection.And that connection had saved her life that night. 

“Thanks, Dig,” he told his best friend. “Thanks for being there tonight.”

“I wouldn’t have been anywhere else, man.”

Roy returned. “Okay, tip’s been placed.”

“Why don’t we head out,” Dig suggested to him. “Let Oliver take care of Felicity?”

Right then, Felicity walked out, looking small and fragile and swamped in his clothes. Oliver’s heart lurched at the sight. _Safe_.He had kept her safe tonight. He vowed that he would _always_ keep her safe. 

***

Laying in the soft bed at his grandparents’ cabin, Oliver was in that blissful place between waking and sleeping after making love to Felicity for the second time.The way he could feel her contentment, even in her sleep, eased a place in his own soul that he hadn’t fully realized was on edge. 

She fit in his arms perfectly, just as she had weeks ago during that long night he’d sat awake at the Sanctuary, worrying. It seemed silly now, that he’d worried. If anything, that worrying had complicated things between him and Felicity needlessly.Diggle had been right.He’d been afraid. 

Fear was the last thing on his mind now, as he held Felicity close to him, smelling her delicate fragrance, feeling her soft skin against his, listening to the soft sighs of her even breathing as she slept. 

This was going to change everything. Oliver had never expected he would find his soulmate.Most people didn’t. His grandparents had been lucky. Oliver’s adult life had been markedly _unlucky_.But somehow, fate had seen fit to deliver Felicity to him. 

Sighing, Oliver snuggled down into the pillows, drawing on Felicity’s warmth as sleep finally pulled at him.He had Felicity now, he knew what she meant to him and what he meant to her, and he wasn’t ever going to let her go now. 


	11. This is Getting Good Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little glimpse at Oliver and Felicity in the future (set sometime in a theoretical season 5). Amidst celebrating, Felicity reveals a little secret that will change both their lives forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks! Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey. This was a trope I'd only read a few fics for and had very little experience with or knowledge of but I was intrigued. And it means a lot that you joined me for the ride. Thank you all for all your comments, support, praise, enthusiasm and everything the last couple of weeks. You are the ones that make this all worthwhile. 
> 
> Enjoy this little look into Oliver and Felicity's future... it's something I have a feeling many of you were hoping to see/learn about. Happy Holidays to everyone!

The private jet, provided generously the Queen Consolidated board as wedding present, flew through the gathering dusk towards the Hawaiian islands.  Oliver was sitting at a chair, watching out the window as clouds and water slipped away beneath them. Felicity moved through the spacious cabin, smiling at the picture he made.

He looked content and excited, the same as she felt. His new platinum ring glinted on his ring finger, looking as though it belonged there.She felt the weight of her own ring on her finger, the enormous diamond already at home on her finger after the long months of their engagement. 

Felicity settled in the seat opposite him and waited until he turned his attention to her.His smile was warm and open. 

“Happy?” she asked him, already knowing the answer.She could feel his happiness inside of her, like a warm coal. 

“Beyond happy,” he told her, smiling. 

“I want to tell you something,” Felicity said, trying to keep the obvious excitement out of her voice.Though she knew he could probably feel it inside of her.It was so hard to keep a secret from this man these days. 

His eyebrows went up and he leaned forward in his seat. “I’ve been wondering what’s got you all abuzz. I thought it was just the wedding but it’s just grown since we left the reception.”

Felicity smoothed her hands on the skirt of the dress she’d changed into before they left the reception hall for the airport. “I can’t keep any secrets from you anymore, not even good ones,” she pouted.

Oliver chuckled. “I know. That’s one of the benefits of being soul-bonded.”

“Well, then I think you can probably figure out what it is… if you try hard enough.” 

Oliver looked intrigued by that, his eyes narrowing speculatively. Felicity had just been in the small washroom located back in the jet’s bedroom, removing traces of the perfume and lotions she’d slathered herself with all day long in order to hide this surprise from her new husband. 

Felicity tried to sit as still as she could, the heat gathering in her body already making it difficult.Oliver got out of his seat and onto his knees, approaching her with a feral glint in his eyes as he sniffed at her wrists, her neck.He placed a soft kiss just under her ear, making her shiver. 

“You’re going into heat,” he told her, his voice low. 

“I am,” she replied, simply. 

“You know the only reason you were able to hide this from me at all is because Thea hasn’t let me into your apartment the last few days. And today was just so… distracting.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” Felicity said with a grin. “No slight against your superior Alpha senses is intended.”

“Well, as long as that’s clear…”He chuckled.“How did you manage to time your heat with our wedding?”

Felicity shrugged. “Well, that part was just luck. You know I’ve been going to see my doctor, so I could be more aware of my heat cycles and such.I asked her a few months ago if she could tell me when to expect my next heat. She ran some tests and had me come back in a few more times to track the readings. Then, just last week, she said I could expect my heat to come within the week. I didn’t want it to arrive before the wedding, so she gave me a shot that would get me just past it.”

“She can do that?” Oliver asked, impressed. 

“Apparently. But the rest of it… its luck that it’s arriving now. I could have suppressed it but then I thought about that conversation we’d had a few months ago…”

Oliver’s eyes glimmered as he recalled. Felicity would never forget it. They’d been buried in wedding planning for weeks.It turned out, Oliver had more of a knack for it than she did, and he’d been in conversation with her mother for months selecting the venues, the colors, the cake, the music… But some things required Felicity’s input and as they pored over the menu for their afternoon reception, discussion had turned to their plans for the future. 

 

_“I could cook better than that caterer we saw yesterday,” Felicity mused as they went through the different options and caterers they’d interviewed. Oliver snorted, and Felicity didn’t mind because it was well known between the two of them that Felicity couldn’t cook to save her life._

_“Not in this kitchen you couldn’t,” he remarked. Not nearly enough counter space and you’d want at least a double oven.”_

_Felicity blinked at him, realizing he’d put a lot of thought into her apartment’s shortcomings. “Do you think we should move?” she asked._

_“We probably should at some point.You only have the one bedroom here, we’ll definitely need more once we start having children.”Oliver didn’t even look up from the menu he was looking over. Felicity felt her throat go dry.But not from fear.Two years ago, when he’d first said he loved her in that darkened mansion, she would have felt nothing but fear. But now?A delicious sort of excitement shot up her spine at the thought of having a child with Oliver.Maybe it was time after all._

_“When?” she asked casually, sorting through the menus and setting aside the ones she knew she didn’t care for._

_“Hmm?”_

_“When would you like to start having children?”_

_“Yesterday,” he replied swiftly.He held up a menu. “I really liked this caterer and this menu looks perfect.”_

_Felicity’s mouth popped open.She hadn’t expected that answer.“Are you serious?”_

_“Yes. I’ve heard amazing things about his chicken satay.”_

_“Oliver!You— You want to have kids?”_

_“I’m okay with waiting until you’re ready,” he assured her as she took the menu from him._

_Felicity chewed on her lip as she considered the menu. “What if I said I’m ready?”_

_Oliver’s eyes widened. “Felicity?”_

_“Do you— I mean, after the wedding of course… would you…?Want to?”Nerves gnawed at her. She was unsure of his reaction._

_“Would I want to have children with you?Felicity… that’s my_ dream _.”_

_Her heart lifted into her throat and she could feel the tears pricking at her eyes. She got up from her chair and leapt into his waiting arms, menu still in hand. Oliver kissed her hard and then peppered kisses all over her face and neck until she was laughing._

_“I cannot_ wait _to have children with you, Felicity,” he murmured into her skin._

_Felicity sniffled and kissed him back.“Me either.”_

_“What do you say we get in a practice run or two?” he asked, pulling back enough so she could see the desire in his expression as he gazed at her._

_Felicity grinned.“Practice makes perfect.”_

_Oliver scooped her up into his arms, making her squeal.As he carried her to their bedroom, she waved the menu at him. “And yes, I like this caterer the best.”_

 

Ever since that evening, Felicity had found delicious anticipation in waiting for her next heat. She knew this timing was perfect.Their wedding night.Well… Honeymoon more like, since her heat would last at least a couple days. 

“How are you feeling right now?” he asked her, his voice low and throaty.He was scenting her again, rubbing his nose along the inside of her wrist.

“Pretty toasty.” Her breath hitched as he nipped at the tender skin on the underside of her arm. 

“Want to give the bed on this thing a whirl?” he asked her. The question was flippant but his tone was anything but.

“Oh!” she gasped as he raised up and started working on the spot just under her ear.“I’ve never done it on a plane before.”

Oliver just chuckled, which she knew meant that he most definitely _had_ done it on a plane before and suddenly, Felicity didn’t want to think about that anymore.What she did want to think about was getting her new husband as naked as possible, as _soon_ as possible. 

She pushed him back and jumped to her feet. “Okay, Mr. Queen, let’s do this thing.”

He grinned and scooped her up into his arms (which she’d learned in the last couple of years was a favorite move of his). “‘Thing’? Is that what you’re calling it, Mrs. Queen?”

She shivered a little.“Say that again.”

“Mrs. Queen.”

Felicity placed a hand on his cheek, angling his head towards her so she could lean up in his arms to kiss him. “I love it.”

“I love _you_.” 

The bedroom was at the back of the jet and was only large enough to hold a bed that was barely bigger than the one they had in the guest room back home at their apartment. But Felicity had learned from experience with Oliver that he didn’t need a lot of space. He was always ready to rise to the challenge. 

So to speak. 

Oliver set her down next to the bed and they both immediately started to strip, keeping their eyes on each other.Felicity was done quicker because kicking off sandals and pulling a dress over her head went a lot faster than unbuttoning the shirt Oliver was wearing. He finally got the shirt off and Felicity reached for the waistband of his jeans to help him get them unbuttoned and pulled down. 

“Impatient, are we?” he asked, amused. 

“Horny as fuck, more like,” Felicity muttered as she yanked his jeans down his legs. 

“God, I love it when you swear,” he groaned. 

As soon as they were both naked, Oliver grabbed her and tossed her back onto the bed before following after her. He caged her in with his arms and used his knees to push her legs apart so she was completely at his mercy. 

“You think you’re hot stuff, don’t you?” Felicity pushed her hips towards him so that his cock rubbed against her mound. It wasn’t the proper angle to give her good friction but from the way Oliver’s eyes slammed shut, it was definitely working for him. 

“I know I’m hot stuff,” he growled at her. “You must think so too or you wouldn’t have married me.”

“You’ve got me there.”

“Damn right, I’ve got you.”

He reached down between them and started to stroke softly at her heated, tender skin. Felicity bit her lip and arched her back, knowing all too well how easily Oliver could work her into a frenzy just like, just using his fingers.He didn’t even have to go hard, go fast… just light, smooth touches and quicker than she’d like to admit, she’d be yelping his name. 

He was doing it again, the tip of his finger dipping down and rubbing along her clit.The heat inside her started to pulse and grow, just like she remembered. 

“Oliver,” she whimpered, gripping at his arms. His muscles were unyielding underneath her fingers. 

“You’re already so wet, I don’t even need to do this,” he murmured, pressing kisses along her collarbone. 

“So why— oh!Why are you?”

“What’s your rush?” he asked her, biting into her shoulder and making her gasp again. 

“I want your big fat cock inside me _now_ , that’s what my rush is,” Felicity moaned. 

Oliver still responded beautifully to dirty talk. He also could move faster than Felicity could comprehend when he wanted to.In an instant, he was pushing her legs even further apart and slamming into her, filling her in one breathtaking stroke. 

“Ah!” she cried out, digging her nails into his back. It’d been a good week since they’d last had sex which might not sound like a lot but it was a lot for _them_. 

“Fuck… you’re always so fucking tight, Felicity,” he moaned into her neck before he pulled his head up to look her right in the eye. 

“Only because you’re always so fucking _big_ ,” she said as she arched up and nibbled at his ear. 

“Shit…” he breathed. 

“Move…”

“Give me a moment,” Oliver warned her, his voice sounding growly again.Shivers skated down her spine. 

Felicity didn’t want to wait for _any_ moments. She pulled her knees back so he sunk even deeper inside of her and then… she _clenched_. Oliver gasped, grabbing for her hips. 

“Felicity…”

“Please… Oliver, I _need_ it.”

“God damn…” he groaned before he drew out of her, inch by inch… until only the fat head of his cock was still nestled inside of her.Then, after a breathless second, he slammed back into her so hard that her teeth rattled. 

It felt _fantastic._

“Do it again,” she pleaded. 

So he did. The thrusts were hard and punishing but still agonizingly slow. He shifted his hips a little and then he was slamming right into her g-spot. Felicity yelped. 

“Oliver!”

“You like that?” he asked her. 

“God!”

“I’ll take that as yes,” Oliver panted, thrusting hard. He groaned when she dug her nails into his back again and so, with some quick maneuvering, he grabbed her wrists and pulled them over her head, pinning them with one hand. 

Which, _wow_ , really added something. 

Felicity was pinned and open, helpless to what Oliver was doing and that made all of this so much hotter. He was embracing his Alpha-ness, dominating her and it was so damn sexy.Everything her new husband did was sexy, of course, but when he let himself go with her, when he gave over to his biology, that turned Felicity on like nothing else. 

There was little she could do but try to meet his thrusts, but soon his hips were moving so fast and so hard that all she could do was _feel_ it. 

“Wanted to do this all during the ceremony,” he gasped. 

“I’ve wanted to do this all week,” she returned. 

“Fuck, you’re so _hot_.” 

Oliver reached down and this time, he focused directly on her clit. White, hot, pleasure speared through her, making her back bow. 

“Yes! Right there!”

Their flesh smacked together, making the most obscene noises and it just turned her on even more.Oliver was clutching her wrists with one hand, thumbing her clit with the other, his face was glistening with sweat. His rhythm beginning to stutter was her only clue that he was close. 

“C’mon, baby. Come with me,” he urged her. 

She bit her lip, straining into his touch, feeling everything… building…. Building…

Oliver gasped and called out her name as he began to pulse inside of her, spilling his seed. That sent her over the edge she’d been hanging so precariously to and she shouted her own release a second later. Oliver released her wrists and wrapped around her while she did the same and they simply clung to one another as they rode out their mutual pleasure. 

They lay like that for several long minutes, catching their breath, as the sweat on their bodies cooled and Felicity’s fever subsided… for now. The bond between them shimmered with satisfaction and pleasure. And love. Felicity buried her nose in Oliver’s neck, breathing in his heady scent. 

He was hers and she was his. 

“I love you,” she breathed, pressing kisses to his cooling skin. 

“I love you more,” he said, his voice rumbling. She highly doubted that, but she let him have his delusion. 

***

Their honeymoon ended up being amazing. Felicity was in full-blown heat when they arrived and as such, they didn’t emerge from their private bungalow for two full days. If she hadn’t been so overwhelmed with her own hormonal tide, she might have laughed at how Oliver protectively ushered her from the jet to the car and from the car to bungalow, shooting glares at anyone who dared look their way the whole time. 

Those two days were off-the-charts hot and neither even wanted to leave the circle of each other’s arms. When they did, after her heat was finished, it was just to lay on the beach and soak up the sun and the breeze and sights of the island around them. 

She’d worried while planning this trip that Oliver wouldn’t react well to being back on an island but he assured her that two things would set it apart as being completely different: she would be there with him and it would be _warm_.

She watched him closely, but the giant grin on his face during their vacation was enough to prove to her that he was having as great a time as she was.

A week or two after they returned, Felicity discovered she was, indeed, pregnant. It wasn’t a surprise… it would have been more surprising for her not to become pregnant after having unprotected sex during a mating heat. Still, she felt a thrill when the pregnancy was confirmed. And Oliver, bless his heart, was over the moon. 

Eight months later when their son was born, Oliver cried. 

They named him Thomas Robert Queen. 


End file.
